Does changing direction affect acceleration?
A change in velocity is either a change in an object’s speed or its direction. When a moving object changes direction, its velocity changes and it is accelerating. The speed of a horse moving around on a carousel remains constant, but it is constantly changing direction. So, the horse is accelerating.
How do you calculate acceleration?
Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity. To calculate acceleration, you first find the change in velocity. To find change in velocity subtract the beginning velocity of an object from the velocity at the end of its movement. Beginning velocity is called the initial velocity, or vi . Velocity at the end is called the final velocity, or vf.
change in velocity= final velocity - initial velocity
If motion is in a straight line, the change in speed can be used to calculate the change in velocity. The change in speed is the final speed minus the initial speed. To find acceleration, divide the change in velocity by the length of time during which the velocity changed.
acceleration (a)= change in velocity /time (t) or a = (vf - vi /t)
The SI unit for velocity is meters per second (m/s). To find acceleration, velocity is divided by the time in seconds (s). So, the unit for acceleration is m/s2 .
