Acceleration Flashcards
How is acceleration different from velocity or speed?
Acceleration is the change in velocity over a certain amount of time
What is the formula for calculating the average acceleration of an object?
What is deceleration, and how does it relate to acceleration
Deceleration is simply negative acceleration, occurring when something slows down, resulting in a negative change in velocity
A car is travelling along a road when it collides with a tree and comes to a stop. Estimate the deceleration of the car:
1) First, give a sensible speed for the car to be travelling at (this should be memorised as 25m/s)
2) Next, estimate how long it would take the car to stop.
3) Put these numbers into the acceleration equation(as it came to a stop the change in velocity would be 0-25)
4)The question asked for the deceleration, so you can use the minus sign to show the car is losing down
What is another name for constant acceleration?
Uniform acceleration
What is acceleration due to gravity, and what is its typical value near the Earth’s surface?
-It is approximately 9.8 m/s^2 near the Earth’s surface
-it is equivalent to gravitational field strength and would be the acceleration of anything that is dropped
What equation can be used for uniform acceleration?
Final velocity^2 (m/s)-initial velocity^2(m/s)=2 x acceleration(m/s^2) x distance (m)
A van travelling at 23m/s starts decelerating uniformly at 2.0m/s^2 as it heads towards a built up area 112m away. What will its speed be when it reaches the built up area?
1) First, rearrange the equation so v is on one side.
2) Now put the numbers in - remember a is negative because it’s a deceleration.
3)Finally, square root the whole thing.
