Acceleration

0s 1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s

V1=5km/h V2=10 km/h V4=20 km/h V5=25 km/h V6=30 km/h

start V3=15 km/h
• Acceleration is the change in velocity for every
unit of time.
• An increase or decrease in the magnitude is
called acceleration although the word
deceleration is sometimes used to indicate a
decrease in the magnitude of the velocity.
where: a = average acceleration
Δv = change in velocity
vi = initial velocity
vf = final velocity
t = elapsed time
 Checking for Acceleration for Different
Types of Motion
Direction of Speed Acceleration
Velocity
Unchanging Constant a=0
(Linear motion)
Changing a≠0
Changing Constant a≠0
Changing Changing a≠0
• When acceleration
and velocity are in
opposite directions,
speed decreases.
• When acceleration
and velocity are in
the same direction,
speed increases.
Sample Problems
1. A car’s performance is often judged by the
shortest time required to accelerate the car
from rest to 100 km/h. The new Ford
Mustang can achieve this in 10 s. What is the
average acceleration of this sports car in
m/s2?
2. Calculate the acceleration of a car if it
changes velocity from 20 m/s to 50 m/s in 20
seconds.
3. A race car decelerates at 10 m/s2. What time
will it take the car to stop if it is going at
50 m/s ?
4. A car started from rest and gained a velocity
of 60 km/h in 10 seconds. Calculate the
acceleration of the car.
• The speeds of two runners, Aaron and Brian,
are recorded in the table below. If both
started from rest and had constant
accelerations, who had greater acceleration?
Aaron Brian
Time (s) Speed (m/s) Time (s) Speed (m/s)
1.00 1.54 x 10-3 3.00 4.56 x 10-3
2.00 3.08 x 10-3 5.00 7.60 x 10-3