Acceleration
What is acceleration?
Acceleration Changing velocity Units This includes changing magnitude or direction Units Distance per time2 m/s2 (metres per second per second), km/hr2
Describing Acceleration If the object is speeding up the acceleration is positive What is the acceleration of the object? How much does the speed change per second? Time (s) 0.0s 1.0s 2.0s 3.0s 4.0s 5.0s Velocity (m/s [N]) 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Describing Acceleration If the object is slowing down the acceleration is negative or in the opposite direction What is the acceleration of the object? How much does the speed change per second? Time (s) 0.0s 1.0s 2.0s 3.0s 4.0s 5.0s Velocity (m/s [N]) 20 17 14 11 8.0 5.0
Calculating Acceleration Average Acceleration Formula
Example 1: A high speed train travels from Brussels to Paris. As the train reaches Paris it has a velocity 160 km/h [S] before coming to a stop in 0.12h. What is the train’s average acceleration?
Example # 2 A speed skater has a velocity of 2.34 m/s [E]. What is the skater’s final velocity is she accelerates at 0.26 m/s2 [E] for 10.0 s?