Ohio Assessment for Educators (OAE) Integrated Science (024) Practice Exam

Which of the following factors directly affects the acceleration of an object?

1. Mass of the object

2. Distance covered

3. The force acting on the object

4. Time taken

The correct answer is: The force acting on the object

The acceleration of an object is directly influenced by the force acting on it, as articulated in Newton's Second Law of Motion. This principle states that the acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. In mathematical terms, this is often expressed as \( F = ma \), where \( F \) is the net force applied to the object, \( m \) is its mass, and \( a \) is the acceleration. Thus, as the force increases, the acceleration of the object increases, assuming mass remains constant. While mass, distance, and time are important concepts in physics, they do not have the same direct relationship with acceleration. For instance, mass affects how much acceleration a given force will produce, but it is not a direct cause of acceleration itself. Distance covered and time taken can be related to the object’s speed or total motion but do not directly cause changes in acceleration since they are often outcomes of differing acceleration conditions rather than factors that affect it.