Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) Practice Exam

Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. Which law describes this principle?

1. Newton's First Law

2. Newton's Third Law

3. Newton's Second Law

4. Law of Universal Gravitation

The correct answer is: Newton's Second Law

The principle that describes how acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass is encapsulated by Newton's Second Law of Motion. This law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. In mathematical terms, this relationship is often expressed as F = ma, where F represents the net force, m represents the mass, and a represents the acceleration. This means that for a given mass, if a force is applied, the object will accelerate in the direction of the force. The greater the force applied, the greater the acceleration, and conversely, the greater the mass, the less acceleration will result from the same applied force. This foundational concept is critical in physics and engineering, as it connects the concepts of force, mass, and motion in a systematic way. While the other laws—Newton's First and Third Laws, as well as the Law of Universal Gravitation—address different aspects of motion and forces, they do not specifically link force to the resulting acceleration in the same way that Newton's Second Law does.