A 9-kg block on a frictionless horizontal table is pushed with a net horizontal force of 45 N. What is the acceleration and direction?

A 9-kg block on a frictionless horizontal table is pushed with a net horizontal force of 45 N. What is the acceleration and direction?

• A. 5 m/s^2 to the right
• B. 5 m/s^2 to the left
• C. 0 m/s^2
• D. 45 m/s^2 to the right

Answer: (A)

Acceleration arises from Newton's second law: a = F_net / m. With a net horizontal force of 45 N on a 9 kg block on a frictionless table, the acceleration is 45 N ÷ 9 kg = 5 m/s^2. The direction of the acceleration is the same as the net force, so it points to the right. This matches the correct choice. The zero-acceleration option would require no net force, the 45 m/s^2 option would imply a much smaller mass, and a leftward acceleration would mean the force acted to the left.

Acceleration arises from Newton's second law: a = F_net / m. With a net horizontal force of 45 N on a 9 kg block on a frictionless table, the acceleration is 45 N ÷ 9 kg = 5 m/s^2. The direction of the acceleration is the same as the net force, so it points to the right. This matches the correct choice. The zero-acceleration option would require no net force, the 45 m/s^2 option would imply a much smaller mass, and a leftward acceleration would mean the force acted to the left.