Which scientific principle relates the force, mass, and acceleration of an object?

The scientific principle that relates force, mass, and acceleration is defined 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. This relationship is often summarized by the equation:

[ F = m \times a ]

where ( F ) represents force, ( m ) represents mass, and ( a ) represents acceleration. This principle emphasizes that a larger mass will require a greater force to achieve the same acceleration as a smaller mass. Additionally, it highlights the direct proportionality between the force applied and the resulting acceleration of the mass.

The other options, while significant in their own right, pertain to different principles in physics. For example, the work-energy principle relates to the relationship between work done and energy transferred, while Einstein's famous equation relates energy to mass and the speed of light, and impulse concerns the change in momentum of an object due to a force applied over a time interval. However, none of these directly describe the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration as effectively as Newton's second law does.