Force, mass and acceleration calculators
This page contains a calculator for working out force (newtons, N), as well as calculators with the equation rearranged to
make mass (kg) and acceleration (a, ms
–2
) the subject. The formulas are shown together with other useful information
and examples to try. The newton (N) is a derived unit in the SI system. You can see how it is derived on this page.
Note that when written out fully the unit has a lower case n, i.e. newton, to distinguish it from the person it is named
after: Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727). However, the letter denoting the unit is upper case, i.e. N.
Enter all figures without commas. For example, enter 2,400 as 2400.
Advertisement
Calculate force (N) from mass (kg) and acceleration (a, m/s
2
)
The equation for force is given above right.
Example: A typical car has a mass of 1,200 kg and can accelerate at 3.5 ms
-
2
, what is the force involved in this
acceleration?
In this case we simply enter the mass (1,200 kg) and the acceleration (3.5 ms
-
2
) into the calculator and click Calculate,
to show that the answer is 4,200 newtons.
F = m x a is usually just written as F = ma and is the mathematical form of Newton’s second law.
Calculate acceleration (m/s
2
) from force (N) and mass (kg)
The equation for acceleration is given above right.
Example: A light aircraft has a mass of 1,100 kilograms and during its
take off run is subject to a force of 4,600 newtons. What is the average
acceleration of the aircraft during its take of run?
Entering the force (4,600 N) and mass (1,100 kg) into the calculator
and clicking Calculate shows that the answer is 4.18 m/s
2
.
The equation for acceleration is:
Where:
a = acceleration (ms
-2
)
F = force (newtons, N)
m = mass (kilograms, kg)
Quick Facts
The Space Shuttle had a peak
acceleration of about 29.4 ms
-2
.
A jumping flea can experience an
acceleration of 3,200 ms
-2
.
Calculate mass (kg) from force (N) and acceleration (m/s
2
)
The equation for mass is given above right.
Example: At launch the Saturn V moon rocket’s first stage produced a
force of 35,100,000 newtons and an acceleration of about 11.8 m/s
2
.
What was the mass of the rocket at this stage?
Entering the data into the calculator and clicking Calculate gives an
answer of around 2,970,000 kg. Note that some Saturn V launches
had slightly different masses depending on the requirements of the
mission and equipment carried.
The equation for mass is:
Where:
m = mass (kilograms, kg)
F = force (newtons, N)
a = acceleration (ms
-2
)
The equation for force is:
Where:
F = force (newtons, N)
m = mass (kilograms, kg)
a = acceleration (ms
-2
)
Force
Acceleration:
From the units of the formula we can see that acceleration is given as “metres per second per second”. This can be
written in a number of equally correct ways such as ms
-
2
, m/s
2
or, less commonly, m/s/s.
So to calculate acceleration we use the formula a = m/s
2
. For example, if the distance is 80 m and the time is 5 s then
the acceleration is 80 / 5
2
= 80 / 25 = 3.2 m/s
2
.
Another way of calculating acceleration is from the change in speed (s) or velocity (v), given in metres per second (ms
-1
or m/s), divided by the change time taken (t) to reach its maximum speed. In the example below, a car starting from
stationary, achieves a speed of 15 metres per second (m/s) after 10 seconds (s):
So the average acceleration of the car is 1.5 m/s
2
. This is around the mid-range of acceleration for most cars.
mass & acceleration calculators
Force, mass and acceleration calculators
This page contains a calculator for working out force (newtons, N),
as well as calculators with the equation rearranged to make mass
(kg) and acceleration (a, ms
–2
) the subject. The formulas are
shown together with other useful information and examples to try.
The newton (N) is a derived unit in the SI system. You can see
how it is derived on this page.
Note that when written out fully the unit has a lower case n, i.e.
newton, to distinguish it from the person it is named after: Isaac
Newton (1643 - 1727). However, the letter denoting the unit is
upper case, i.e. N.
Enter all figures without commas. For example, enter 2,400 as
2400.
Calculate force (N) from mass (kg) and acceleration (a, m/s
2
)
The equation for force is given below.
Example: A typical car has a mass of 1,200 kg and can
accelerate at 3.5 ms
-
2
, what is the force involved in this
acceleration?
In this case we simply enter the mass (1,200 kg) and the
acceleration (3.5 ms
-
2
) into the calculator and click Calculate,
to show that the answer is 4,200 newtons.
F = m x a is usually just written as F = ma and is the
mathematical form of Newton’s second law.
Calculate acceleration (m/s
2
) from force (N) and mass (kg)
The equation for acceleration is given below.
Example: A light aircraft has a mass of 1,100 kilograms and
during its take off run is subject to a force of 4,600 newtons.
What is the average acceleration of the aircraft during its take of
run?
Entering the force (4,600 N) and mass (1,100 kg) into the
calculator and clicking Calculate shows that the answer is 4.18
m/s
2
.
The equation for acceleration is:
Where:
a = acceleration (ms
-2
)
F = force (newtons, N)
m = mass (kilograms, kg)
Calculate mass (kg) from force (N) and acceleration (m/s
2
)
The equation for mass is given below.
Example: At launch the Saturn V moon rocket’s first stage
produced a force of 35,100,000 newtons and an acceleration of
about 11.8 m/s
2
. What was the mass of the rocket at this stage?
Entering the data into the calculator and clicking Calculate gives
an answer of around 2,970,000 kg. Note that some Saturn V
launches had slightly different masses depending on the
requirements of the mission and equipment carried.
The equation for mass is:
Where:
m = mass (kilograms, kg)
F = force (newtons, N)
a = acceleration (ms
-2
)
The equation for force is:
Where:
F = force (newtons, N)
m = mass (kilograms, kg)
a = acceleration (ms
-2
)
Force
Acceleration:
From the units of the formula we can see that acceleration is
given as “metres per second per second”. This can be written in
a number of equally correct ways such as ms
-
2
, m/s
2
or, less
commonly, m/s/s.
So to calculate acceleration we use the formula a = m/s
2
. For
example, if the distance is 80 m and the time is 5 s then the
acceleration is 80 / 5
2
= 80 / 25 = 3.2 m/s
2
.
Another way of calculating acceleration is from the change in
speed (s) or velocity (v), given in metres per second (ms
-1
or
m/s), divided by the change time taken (t) to reach its maximum
speed. In the example below, a car starting from stationary,
achieves a speed of 15 metres per second (m/s) after 10
seconds (s):
So the average acceleration of the car is 1.5 m/s
2
. This is
around the mid-range of acceleration for most cars.
Advertisement
mass & acceleration calculators
