To determine the acceleration of the book, we'll use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration. This relationship is expressed with the formula:
[tex]\[ F = ma \][/tex]
where:
- [tex]\( F \)[/tex] is the force applied to the object (in newtons, N)
- [tex]\( m \)[/tex] is the mass of the object (in kilograms, kg)
- [tex]\( a \)[/tex] is the acceleration of the object (in meters per second squared, [tex]\( m/s^2 \)[/tex])
Given:
- The mass [tex]\( m \)[/tex] of the book is [tex]\( 0.5 \)[/tex] kilograms.
- The force [tex]\( F \)[/tex] applied to the book is [tex]\( 20 \)[/tex] newtons.
We need to find the acceleration [tex]\( a \)[/tex]. Rearrange the formula to solve for acceleration:
[tex]\[ a = \frac{F}{m} \][/tex]
Substitute the given values into the equation:
[tex]\[ a = \frac{20 \, \text{N}}{0.5 \, \text{kg}} \][/tex]
Perform the division:
[tex]\[ a = 40 \, m/s^2 \][/tex]
Therefore, the acceleration of the book is:
A) [tex]\( 40 \, m/s^2 \)[/tex]
So, the correct answer is [tex]\( 40 \, m/s^2 \)[/tex].
