Acceleration
Definition
Acceleration refers to the rate at which an object's velocity changes over time. It can be positive (speeding up), negative (slowing down), or zero (constant speed).
Analogy
Imagine you're driving a car and suddenly step on the gas pedal. The feeling of being pushed back into your seat as the car rapidly speeds up is similar to experiencing acceleration.
Related terms
Velocity: Velocity is the rate at which an object's position changes over time, including both speed and direction.
Force: Force is a push or pull that can cause an object to accelerate or change its motion.
Deceleration: Deceleration refers to negative acceleration, where an object slows down over time.
"Acceleration" appears in:
Study guides (7)
AP Physics 1 - 1.1 Position, Velocity, and Acceleration
AP Physics 1 - 1.2 Representations of Motion
AP Physics 1 - 2.5 Newton's Third Law and Free-Body Diagrams
AP Physics 1 - 2.6 Newton's Second Law
AP Physics 1 - 2.7 Applications of Newton’s Second Law
AP Physics 1 - 3.6 Centripetal Acceleration and Centripetal Force
AP Physics 1 - 6.1 Period of Simple Harmonic Oscillators
Additional resources (5)
Practice Questions (15)
Sum of the forces = mass * acceleration tells you that the direction of the force and acceleration vectors are
A cart (m1= 2kg) is setup so it slides across the tabletop. It’s attached to a hanging mass (m2 = 10kg) and released from rest. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the cart and the tabletop is 0.5. What is the acceleration of the cart?
Block A and B are hanging off a pulley. Block A has 1.5 times the mass of block B. The acceleration of the two blocks is approximately...
If a system of 3 identical blocks connected by strings is accelerating at 2 m/s/s, what is the acceleration of the middle block?
When a baseball player hits the ball with the bat, the force of the bat on the ball is ____ the force of the ball on the bat and the acceleration of the bat is ____ than the acceleration of the ball.
In the motion of a simple mass-spring oscillator, acceleration is at its MAXIMUM at
A block with a mass of 20 kg is attached to a spring with a force constant k = 50 N/m. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the block when the spring is stretched 4 m from its equilibrium position?
In the motion of a simple mass-spring oscillator, acceleration is at its maxiumum at _____
A car travels 500m from rest and with an final velocity of 55 m/s. What was its acceleration?
What is the acceleration of a free-falling object as it moves at a speed of 25 m/s after 3 seconds?
If acceleration and velocity vectors point in opposite directions, the object will
If acceleration and velocity vectors are in the same direction, the object will
A circus performer swings a yo-yo in a clockwise vertical circle during a performance. When the yo-yo is at the top of its circle, what are the directions of its velocity and acceleration?
For a given force, larger inertial masses will experience ______ acceleration.
An object is subject to a net force of 30 N and experiences an acceleration of 6 m/s^2. What is the object's mass?
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