The starship Enterprise locks onto an alien ship (whose mass is much greater than the Enterprise's mass) with its tractor beam (think of this as a futuristic rope) and starts to pull the alien ship toward it. Neither ship has its propulsion engines running. Which ship has greater acceleration towards the other?
A) The Enterprise
B) The alien ship
C) They both move with equal acceleration.
D) Neither ship can move because there is no friction in outer space.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Enterprise will have greater acceleration towards the alien ship due to Newton's second law of motion (F=ma). Since the force exerted by the tractor beam is the same on both ships but the mass of the alien ship is much greater, the acceleration (a=F/m) of the Enterprise will be greater because it has a smaller mass.

The Starship Enterprise Locks onto an Alien Ship (Whose Mass