To determine the acceleration of an object given its mass and the force applied to it, we use Newton's Second Law of Motion. This law is stated mathematically as:
[tex]\[ F = m \cdot a \][/tex]
Where:
- [tex]\( F \)[/tex] is the force applied to the object (measured in newtons, N).
- [tex]\( m \)[/tex] is the mass of the object (measured in kilograms, kg).
- [tex]\( a \)[/tex] is the acceleration of the object (measured in meters per second squared, m/s²).
In this problem, we are given:
- The mass of the object, [tex]\( m = 5.0 \)[/tex] kg.
- The force applied to the object, [tex]\( F = 20.0 \)[/tex] N.
We need to find the acceleration [tex]\( a \)[/tex].
To solve for the acceleration, we need to rearrange the formula [tex]\( F = m \cdot a \)[/tex] to solve for [tex]\( a \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ a = \frac{F}{m} \][/tex]
Now, substitute the given values for force and mass into the equation:
[tex]\[ a = \frac{20.0 \text{ N}}{5.0 \text{ kg}} \][/tex]
Perform the division:
[tex]\[ a = 4.0 \text{ m/s}^2 \][/tex]
Therefore, the acceleration of the object is [tex]\( 4.0 \text{ m/s}^2 \)[/tex].
