Question

four students are watching a motorcycle and a large car at a red stoplight. when the light turns green, the motorcycle takes off with a great acceleration while the car very slowly speeds up. which student has the best explanation for why the motorcycle could accelerate so fast? a student 1: the motorcycle has less mass so it has less inertia so it needs less force to change its motion. b student 2: the motorcycle has a more powerful engine so it can apply more force. c student 3: the car has more friction with the ground, and this decreases the acceleration. d student 4: the car has a greater gravitational force pulling it down which causes it to require more force to accelerate forward.

Explanation:

According to Newton's second - law $F = ma$, mass affects acceleration. A smaller mass has less inertia and requires less force to accelerate. The motorcycle likely has less mass than the car, so it can accelerate faster with less force. Option A correctly relates mass, inertia, and the force required for acceleration. Option B is not necessarily true as a motorcycle doesn't usually have a more powerful engine than a car. Option C doesn't explain why the motorcycle accelerates fast, just the car's slow acceleration due to friction. Option D, gravitational force acts vertically and doesn't directly affect forward acceleration (except through friction which is not the main factor here).

Answer:

A. Student 1: "The motorcycle has less mass so it has less inertia so it needs less force to change its motion."