Why does the mass of an object not affect its acceleration on an inclined plane?

Question

Wouldn’t Newton’s second law mean the acceleration is indirectly proportional to the mass?

In: Physics

Answer 1

The force is proportional to the mass. An object that weights 2kg will be subject to twice as much force as an object that weighs 1kg(assuming they’re the same distance from the Earth). But force is mass * acceleration. 1 newton is the force needed to accelerate 1 kg 1m/s^2. So even though it’s twice as much force, it needs to move twice as much mass, so it cancels out and ends up being the same acceleration.