Chapter 11: Motion Section 11.3 Acceleration
Acceleration The rate at which velocity changes is acceleration. Acceleration can be described as: Change in speed Change in direction Change in both Acceleration is a vector. The SI unit for acceleration is m/s2. Constant acceleration is a steady change in velocity. (Think of an airplane taking off.)
Calculating Acceleration For objects moving in a straight line acceleration can be found using the following formula: Acceleration = change in velocity Total time OR Acceleration = (vf - vi) t
More Calculations Acceleration can be positive or negative. (Think about speeding up or slowing down.) Solve: A car traveling at 10 m/s starts to decelerate steadily. It comes to a complete stop in 20 seconds. What is its acceleration?
Graphs of Accelerated Motion The slope of a speed-time graph is acceleration. Constant acceleration is shown by a linear graph. If the slope is positive, the acceleration is positive. If the slope is negative, the acceleration is negative.