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 \(F = ma\) (where \(F\) is force, \(m\) is mass, and \(a\) is acceleration), less mass means less inertia. Inertia is the resistance of an object to a change in its state of motion. A motorcycle with less mass requires less force to achieve a large acceleration. Option B doesn't necessarily mean a motorcycle has a more powerful engine than a car. Option C, friction is not the main factor here as both are on the same road surface. Option D, gravitational force acts vertically and doesn't directly affect the forward acceleration in the absence of other complex interactions.

Answer:

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