To determine how the tanker's acceleration changes after transferring 40,000 kg of fuel, we can use Newton's second law, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration (F = m * a).
Initially, the tanker has a mass of 180,000 kg and an acceleration of 2.8 m/s². The force acting on the tanker can be calculated as:
\[
F = m \cdot a = 180,000 \, \text{kg} \cdot 2.8 \, \text{m/s}^2 =