If an object is accelerating, can the net force acting on it be zero?

No, the net force cannot be zero.

Explanation:

From newton's second law,

ΣFnet = ma

Since a is accelerating I.e it is change velocity with respect to time taken, since acceleration can only occur when the force acting on the body is not balanced.

Then Fnet cannot be zero.

Now, if Fnet is zero

Fnet = ma=0

It shows that, the acceleration is zero. So since the body is accelerating, then the net force can not be zero

some think that theories become laws, but theories and laws have separate and distinct roles in the scientific method. a law is a description of an observed phenomenon in the natural world that hold true every time it is tested. it doesn't explain why something is true; it just states that it is true.