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Chapter 3 · Forces and Motion — Lesson 3.4
Newton's Second Law: Force, Mass & Acceleration
Push a block with different forces and masses, and watch its velocity-time graph draw itself live. See directly how a bigger mass needs more force to reach the same acceleration.
Live Block & Grapha = 0.00 m/s²
4.0 N
2.0 kg
Readouts
Force F
4.0 N
Mass m
2.0 kg
Acceleration a
0.00 m/s²
Velocity now
0.00 m/s
Force and mass stay constant during a run, so acceleration is constant too — that’s why the velocity-time graph is a straight line. Its gradient is the acceleration.
F = m a
the same resultant force accelerates a bigger mass more slowly
What Each Variable Means
F
Force
The push applied to the block, in newtons (N).
m
Mass
How much matter is in the block, in kilograms (kg).
a
Acceleration
How quickly velocity increases: a = F/m, in metres per second squared (m/s²).