Question

A 100 kg bag of sand has a weight on 100 N. When dropped its acceleration is what?

Answer 1

Answer:

Gravity.

Explanation:

If you are holding the bag of sand, the only acceleration in the system is gravity, because is a vertical movement. So, $a = 9.81 \frac{m}{s^{2} }$

We are assuming that is vertical movement because is say ''dropped'', which is a term used in Free-fall models, where acceleration is constant.

Answer 2

100N describes the weight of the sandbag, while 100kg is the mass of the sandbag.

To calculate acceleration, divide your weight by the mass, thus the accleration is:

$100N/100kg = 1(m/s^2)$