Acceleration Acceleration (a): The rate of change of an object’s velocity. Vector English Translation: Something is speeding up or slowing down

Average acceleration is: the ratio of change in velocity to the time taken to change the velocity v a = t a = average acceleration SI Units: m/s2

The “sign” of the acceleration does not indicate whether the speed is increasing or decreasing. Positive sign: velocity becomes more positive Negative sign: velocity becomes more negative If velocity and acceleration are in the SAME direction, the object speeds up. If velocity and acceleration are in OPPOSITE directions, the object slows down.

Kinematic Equations vf = vi + at Δx= vit + ½at2 vf2 = vi2 + 2aΔx t = time elapsed vf = vi + at Δx = displacement vi = initial velocity Δx= vit + ½at2 vf2 = vi2 + 2aΔx a = acceleration vf = final velocity

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3