Concepts Of Physics MCQ Edition [Volume 1]
- Exam
- Concepts Of Physics MCQ Edition [Volume 1]
- Subject
- Physics
- Chapter
- Newton's Laws of Motion
Concepts Of Physics MCQ Edition [Volume 1] · Physics · Newton's Laws of Motion
An observer claims to have measured the acceleration of a particle...
An observer claims to have measured the acceleration of a particle to be nonzero while no force was acting on the particle.
Options
- ATheir clock might have been running slow.
- BTheir meter scale might have been longer than the standard.
- CThey might have been using a noninertial frame.
- DThe observer is lying.
Correct answer
C. They might have been using a noninertial frame.
Step-by-step solution
According to Newton's first law of motion, a particle experiences zero acceleration if no net force acts on it, provided the observation is made from an inertial frame of reference.
If an observer measures a nonzero acceleration for a particle on which no real force is acting, the observer must be in an accelerated or rotating frame of reference.
Such a frame of reference is called a noninertial frame. In a noninertial frame, pseudo forces come into play, which can produce an apparent acceleration even in the absence of any real force.
Errors in measuring instruments like a slow clock or a longer meter scale would only change the magnitude of a nonzero acceleration, but they cannot make a zero acceleration appear nonzero.
If an observer measures a nonzero acceleration for a particle on which no real force is acting, the observer must be in an accelerated or rotating frame of reference.
Such a frame of reference is called a noninertial frame. In a noninertial frame, pseudo forces come into play, which can produce an apparent acceleration even in the absence of any real force.
Errors in measuring instruments like a slow clock or a longer meter scale would only change the magnitude of a nonzero acceleration, but they cannot make a zero acceleration appear nonzero.