Question

Suppose the same canoeist uses the same paddle force in two different canoes, one empty and one carrying another passenger. In which case will the canoe move faster?

Answer 1

The canoe that is empty will travel more quickly.

The boat with less mass will accelerate faster for the same paddle force.

Newton’s second law of motion is that

`a = F/m`

Compared to the boat with another passenger, the empty canoe is lighter. As a result, the empty canoe accelerates more with the same power and moves more quickly.