What effect does increasing mass have on acceleration?

Increasing mass has a direct effect on acceleration, as described by Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of that object multiplied by its acceleration (F = ma). When the mass of an object increases while the applied force remains constant, the acceleration of that object must decrease. This is because a larger mass requires more force to achieve the same acceleration.

For example, if you push a heavy object and a light object with the same force, the heavy object will accelerate less than the light one because it has more mass. Therefore, increasing mass leads to a decrease in acceleration when the force applied does not change.

This principle illustrates the inverse relationship between mass and acceleration, highlighting that as mass increases, acceleration decreases under constant force conditions.