In common language, accelerate means to speed up. But in Physics, it has a very specific meaning. Acceleration is described as the rate of change of velocity of an object. A body’s acceleration is the final result of all the forces being applied on the body, as defined by Newton’s Second Law. Acceleration is a vector quantity that is described as the frequency at which a body’s velocity changes.
Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity to the change in time.It is denoted by symbol a.
In one dimensional motion, we can use; 
Meter per second squared or m/s2 is the S.I unit for Acceleration,
If t (time taken), v (final velocity) and u (initial velocity) are provided. Then the acceleration is given by formula i.e the acceleration formula is
Where,
Final Velocity = v
Initial velocity = u
acceleration = a
time taken = t
distance traveled = s
You can use any two of the above formula to calculate acceleration of a body in motion.
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Here are some exercise problems with solutions for you.
Solved Problems using Acceleration Formula
Problem 1: A toy car accelerates from 3m/s to 5m/s in 5 s. What is its acceleration?
Answer:
Given: Initial Velocity u = 3m/s,
Final Velocity v = 5m/s,
Time taken t = 5s.
Problem 2: A car starts from rest and achieves a speed of 54 km/h in 3 seconds. Find its acceleration:
Answer:
Problem 3: An airplane accelerates down a runway at 3.20 m/s2 for 32.8 s until is finally lifts off the ground. Determine the distance traveled before takeoff.
Answer:
Given:
a = +3.2 m/s2
t = 32.8 s
vi = 0 m/s
Find:
d = ??
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (0 m/s)*(32.8 s)+ 0.5*(3.20 m/s2)*(32.8 s)2
d = 1720 m
Problem 4: A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly over a time of 5.21 seconds for a distance of 110 m. Determine the acceleration of the car.
Answer:
Given:
d = 110 m
t = 5.21 s
vi = 0 m/s
Find:
a = ??
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
110 m = (0 m/s)*(5.21 s)+ 0.5*(a)*(5.21 s)2
110 m = (13.57 s2)*a
a = (110 m)/(13.57 s2)
a = 8.10 m/ s2
Water Sort Puzzle – Brain Game
