What is necessary for an object to accelerate according to Newton's laws?

For an object to accelerate according to Newton's laws, a net force must be applied. This is rooted in Newton's Second Law of Motion, which states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass (F = ma). This means that without a net force acting on an object, it will not change its state of motion, whether that is moving at a constant velocity or remaining at rest.

In practical terms, if you want an object to start moving, speed up, slow down, or change direction, you must apply a force to it. This net force can come from various sources, such as friction, gravity, or any applied push or pull. Thus, the presence of a net force is essential for creating acceleration, making it the correct answer.

While velocity change is a consequence of acceleration, it is not a requirement for acceleration itself, as acceleration is the effect of the forces acting on the object. Similarly, while mass plays a role in determining how much an object accelerates in response to a given force, minimizing mass is not a necessary condition for acceleration. Lastly, no forces being applied contradicts the necessity for acceleration as established by Newton's laws.