acceleration the rate at which velocity changes. acceleration acceleration can be described as...
Post on 17-Jan-2016
214 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
AccelerationThe rate at which velocity changes
Acceleration• Acceleration can be described as changes in
speed, changes in direction, or changes in both
• Acceleration is a vector• Shows how velocity changes
Acceleration • Acceleration can be caused by an positive
change in speed (increase)• Acceleration can also be caused by a negative
change in speed (decreasing)• Negative acceleration is known as
deceleration
Acceleration example
• You get on a bus and feel the bus “accelerate” as you go down the street. When the bus is keeping a constant speed, its acceleration is zero.
• After a while the bus stops, since the speed is changing the bus is accelerating. (called deceleration)
Free Fall
• The movement of an object toward Earth solely because of gravity
• It is acceleration due to a change in speed
Unit for Acceleration
• Remember the unit for velocity is meters/second
• The unit for acceleration is meters/second2 or m/s2
• Objects falling near Earth’s surface accelerate downward at 9.8 m/s2
• Each second an object is in a free fall, its velocity increases downward by 9.8 meters per second.
Free Fall
• Look at p. 343 and the rock being dropped down the well
• After 1 second the stone will be falling at 9.8 m/s
• After 2 seconds the stone will be falling at 19.6 m/s (2 x 9.8)
• The change in the stones speed (acceleration) is 9.8 m/s2
Changes in Direction• Acceleration is not always due to a change in
speed• You can accelerate even if you are going at a
constant speed• For example, if you are riding a bicycle and go
around a curve, you are accelerating even though you are keeping a constant speed but you are changing direction
• A carousel is traveling at a constant speed but is accelerating since its direction is changing constantly
Constant Acceleration
• The velocity of an object moving in a straight line shows constant acceleration
• This is when there is a steady change in velocity
• The velocity of an object changes by the same amount each second
• A plane’s acceleration may be constant at take-off time
Calculating Acceleration
• You can calculate acceleration for a straight-line motion by dividing the change in velocity over the total time
• a = acceleration, vi = initial velocity and vf = final velocity
• So acceleration = change in velocity/total time
a= (vf – vi)/t
Calculating Acceleration• If velocity increases, then the acceleration is
positive• For example, coasting down a hill on a bicycle
• If velocity decreases, then the acceleration is negative
• For example, coasting on a bike at the bottom of the hill, your velocity will decrease
top related