Newton's Second Law and Unbalanced Forces

You can see now that when an object is subject to unbalanced forces, it will accelerate in the direction of the net force.  The acceleration will be directly proportional to the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object, so the same force on a lighter object will cause more acceleration.  You also have seen that your study of physics is not a set of unconnected topics, but instead includes several ways of looking at similar situations, each time using new tools to further develop your understanding.

For more information on Newton's Second Law view the video clip Newton's Laws of Motion with Friction from Discovery Education™ streaming.