Average, Instantaneous and Constant Acceleration

To start off class we went over the answers from the Assignment 4 hand-out.

We then went over a new topic... Acceleration!

Average Acceleration- the speed in which something is getting faster or slower.
We can find the average acceleration by using this formula:












or Vf-Vi

Vf or V2 being the final velocity of an object.
Vi or V1 being the initial velocity of an object.

*The SI unit of acceleration is m/s2 (squared) because an object increases speed by Xm/s every second.*

If an object is speeding up it would have a positive acceleration.
If an object is slowing down it would have a negative acceleration.
If an object is travelling at a constant velocity it would have zero acceleration.


Ex.
If you're riding in a vehicle and the vehicle starts speeding up (positive acceleration), you could notice this acceleration by looking at the speedometer but, also you could feel yourself being pulled back.
If the vehicle is slowing down (negative acceleration) you could feel yourself jerk forward.

You can find average acceleration on a graph by drawing a line from one point to another and finding the slope.

Instantaneous Acceleration- acceleration of an object at a specific time.

You can find instantaneous acceleration by drawing a tangent on a curve and finding the slope.

Constant Acceleration- object's velocity changes by equal amounts in equal periods of time.

We finished off class by doing four example questions on acceleration.



Jolene is up next.