What describes the relation between force and acceleration according to Newton's second law?

• A. Net force is unrelated to acceleration.
• B. Acceleration is proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the mass.
• C. Acceleration is proportional to mass.
• D. Acceleration is independent of net force.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how force causes motion. Newton’s second law says that the acceleration of an object is the net force acting on it divided by its mass: a = F_net / m. This means acceleration increases when the net force is stronger, and it decreases when the mass is larger. In other words, for a given net force, a larger mass resists acceleration, and for a given mass, a larger net force produces a larger acceleration. The direction of the acceleration matches the direction of the net force.

So this description captures the direct link between force and motion: acceleration is proportional to net force and inversely proportional to mass. The ideas that acceleration is unrelated to net force or that it scales with mass alone contradict this relationship, and the notion that acceleration is independent of net force also conflicts with F_net = m a.