Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated August 2025
Definition
Acceleration is defined as the rate at which an object changes its velocity over time. It can be positive (speeding up), negative (slowing down), or zero (constant speed).
Newton's second law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass.