Question

Two soccer players kick the same 2-kg ball at the same time in opposite directions one kicks with a force of 15 n the other kicks with a force of 5 n what is the resulting acceleration of the ball in m/s2

Answer 1

It is 5 m/s2 but on my apex test I had to type it in and got it wrong because I put the m/s2 in it, hope this helped you.

Answer 2

Because the direction of the kicks are opposite, the net force between the applied forces is their difference.
                        Fn = F₂ - F₁
Substituting,
                        Fn = 15 N - 5 N
                        Fn = 10 N

From Newton's second law of motion,
                       Fn = m x a
where m is mass and a is acceleration. Manipulating the equation so that we are able to calculate for a,
                       a = Fn / m

Substituting,
                      a = (10 N) / 2 kg
                       a = 5 m/s²

ANSWER: 5 m/s²