Acceleration

• What should you be able to describe by the end of the video?

  Acceleration
• What is the definition of velocity?

  Speed in a given direction
• Why is velocity considered a vector quantity?

  It has both magnitude and direction
• What does acceleration tell us about an object's velocity?

  Change in velocity over a given time
• How is acceleration calculated?

  Change in velocity divided by time
• What is the unit of acceleration?

  m/s²
• What is the change in velocity if a car accelerates from 15 m/s to 35 m/s?

  20 m/s
• If a car accelerates from 15 m/s to 35 m/s in 20 seconds, what is its acceleration?

  1 m/s²
• What does an acceleration of 1 m/s² mean for the car?

  Increases velocity by 1 m/s every second
• If a cyclist's velocity reduces from 6 m/s to 0 in 12 seconds, what is her acceleration?

  • 0.5 m/s²
• What does a negative acceleration indicate?

  The object is decelerating
• What does a horizontal line on a velocity-time graph indicate?

  Constant velocity
• What does the gradient of a velocity-time graph represent?

  The acceleration of the object
• What does an upward sloping line on a velocity-time graph show?

  The object is accelerating
• What does a downward sloping line on a velocity-time graph indicate?

  The object is decelerating
• How do you calculate acceleration from a velocity-time graph?

  Subtract initial velocity from final velocity
• If the final velocity is 15 m/s and the initial velocity is 0 over 100 seconds, what is the acceleration?

  0.15 m/s²
• If the initial velocity is 50 m/s and the final velocity is 0 over 300 seconds, what is the acceleration?

  • 0.5 m/s²
• What does the area under a velocity-time graph represent?

  • Distance traveled
  • Displacement in a specific direction
• How do you calculate the total area under a velocity-time graph with constant acceleration or deceleration?

  1. Divide the graph into shapes
  2. Calculate the area of each shape
  3. Sum the areas for total distance
• If a triangle has an area of 750, a rectangle has an area of 1500, and another triangle has an area of 2250, what is the total distance traveled?

  4500 m
• How do you estimate the total area under a graph with non-constant acceleration?

  Count squares and estimate partial squares