Understanding the Concepts
* Newton's Second Law of Motion: This law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. Mathematically, it's represented as:
* F = m * a
* Where:
* F = Force (in Newtons, N)
* m = Mass (in kilograms, kg)
* a = Acceleration (in meters per second squared, m/s²)
Calculation
1. Identify the known values:
* Force (F) = 9 N
* Mass (m) = 18 kg
2. Rearrange the formula to solve for acceleration (a):
* a = F / m
3. Substitute the values and calculate:
* a = 9 N / 18 kg
* a = 0.5 m/s²
Answer
The acceleration of the 18 kg mass is 0.5 m/s².