In the physics lab, a cart with a mass of 1 kg is found to have an acceleration of 50 cm/s^2 when it is pulled by a string with clay hanging off the ramp. If the mass of the cart is doubled to 2 kg, what will the new acceleration of cart be?

a = 25 cm/s²

Explanation:

Given,

The mass of the cart, m = 1 Kg

The acceleration of the cart, a = 50 cm/s²

The string with clay hanging off the ramp exerts a force, F on the cart (neglecting the tension in the string)

F = m x a

= 1 Kg X 50 cm/s²

= 50 Kg cm/s²

Hence the force exerted by the clay hanging off the ramp on the cart, F = 50 Kg cm/s²

If the mass of the cart is doubled '2 Kg', the same magnitude of the force acts on the cart.

Therefore, from the equation,

F = m x a

50 Kg cm/s² = 2 Kg x a

a = 50 Kg cm/s² / 2 Kg

= 25 cm/s²

Hence, the acceleration of the cart is, a = 25 cm/s²