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BBC Bitesize introduced me to Newton’s 2nd Law of motion by way of F=ma. After a few examples of that they introduced the topic of intertial mass by way of a rearrangement of the above formula (F=ma becoming m=F/a). They said the mass in m=F/a is inertial mass, i.e, a measure of how difficult it is to change the velocity of an object.
This seemed to me to imply, that the m in m=F/a was somehow different from the m in F=ma. But if the formula has simply been rearranged it would seem that the m is the same in both versions?
Is the m in F=ma also inertial mass?
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Yes, the “m” in F = ma represents inertial mass. Inertial mass is a measure of an object’s resistance to changes in its motion and is directly related to how much force is needed to accelerate it. According to Newton’s second law of motion (F = ma), the acceleration experienced by an object when subjected to a net external force (“F”) is directly proportional to its inertial mass (“m”). So, increasing the value of “m” will result in a smaller acceleration for a given applied force, while decreasing “m” will lead to greater acceleration under the same conditions.
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