The football flies away when kicked because it has less mass and therefore less inertia compared to the stone. The stone has greater inertia, so it resists changes in its state of motion, causing it to hardly move despite being kicked with equal force.
Why does a football fly away when kicked, but a stone of the same size hardly moves?
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The difference in the flight of a football and a stone of the same size when kicked lies in their masses. Newton’s second law of motion states that force (F) equals mass (m) multiplied by acceleration (a). When kicked, the force applied to both the football and stone is relatively similar, but since the football has less mass than the stone, it experiences a higher acceleration. This results in the football flying away, while the stone, with its greater mass, moves less. The acceleration is inversely proportional to mass, highlighting the impact of mass on the resulting motion.