Question
What happens when velocities comparable to the speed of light are involved in an observation?
- Newton’s second law of motion, F = ma , governs the motion of the object.
- Newton’s second law of motion, F = ma , no longer governs the dynamics of the object.
- Such velocities cannot be determined mathematically.
- None of the above
Final Answer
(b)
Solution video
OpenStax College Physics for AP® Courses, Chapter 28, Problem 2 (Test Prep for AP® Courses)
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Video Transcript
This is College Physics Answers with Shaun Dychko. When the velocity of something approaches the speed of light, Newton's second law of motion, F equals ma, no longer describes what happens properly and so the answer to this question is (b). Newton's second law does not work so answer (a) is excluded. Part (c) it's hard to really know what that even means it's kind of like saying math doesn't work anymore that doesn't work and we can get rid of (d) because the answer is (b).