By Keiji Oenoki [physics@amersol.edu.

pe]

In the previous chapter, we have analyzed objects with constant velocity. When the
velocity of an object changes, the object is said to be accelerated. In this chapter, we
will further analyze the motion and think about how fast an object moves, how far it
moves and for how long.
1. What is acceleration?
2. Average Acceleration and Instantaneous Acceleration
3. More Velocity-time Graph
4. Displacement and Constant Acceleration
5. Acceleration Due to Gravity
6. Chapter 3 Quiz
Section 1. What is acceleration?
When an object's velocity changes, it accelerates. Acceleration shows the change in
velocity in a unit time. Velocity is measured in meters per second, m/s, so
acceleration is measured in (m/s)/s, or m/s2, which can be both positive and negative.

Section 2. Average Acceleration and Instantaneous Acceleration

The average acceleration is the ratio between the change in velocity and the time
interval.

For example, if a car moves from the rest to 5 m/s in 5 seconds, its average
acceleration is

An instantaneous acceleration is the change in velocity at one moment. We will

study instantaneous acceleration more in depth later in the chapter.

QUESTION: If a car accelerates from 5 m/s to 15 m/s in 2 seconds, what is the

car's average acceleration?
m/s/s

QUESTION: How long does it take to accelerate an object from rest to 10 m/s if
the acceleration was 2 m/s2?
 s

QUESTION: Carl started to run at 10 km/h when he left his house. He arrived at
school 30 minutes later. How fast was he running when he arrived there? Assume
that his average acceleration was 30 km/h2.
km/h

Section 3. More Velocity-time Graph

Let's examine more about a velocity-time graph. We can say that the tangent of a
velocity-time graph represents instantaneous acceleration since

For example, the instantaneous acceleration when t = 3 at the below graph is 3 m/s2,
since the graph has a slope of 3 when t = 3.

QUESTION: What is the instantaneous acceleration of the above object when t =

0?
m/s

QUESTION: What is the average acceleration of the whole trip? (When t = 7,

velocity = 26 m/s)
m/s/s

QUESTION: Does above object has a constant acceleration?

(Yes/No)
Section 4. Displacement and Constant Acceleration

In this section, we will assume that acceleration is always constant.

We know that the area under the line of a velocity-time graph represents the
displacement. Therefore, the equation

is true, where Vi is the initial velocity and Vf is the final velocity, since the area of a
triangle is 1/2 * width * height.

QUESTION: If a car accelerated from 5 m/s to 25 m/s in 10 seconds, how far will
it travel?
m

The final velocity of a uniformly accelerated object is

where:

• Vf is the final velocity in m/s,

• Vi is the initial velocity in m/s,
• a is acceleration in m/s2, and
• t is time in second.

Therefore, by substituting it to the previous equation,

therefore, is true. If you don't understand the derivation, don't worry.
The red formulae are the ones that you should learn.

QUESTION: What is the displacement of a car whose initial velocity is 5 m/s and
then accelerated 2 m/s2 for 10 seconds?
m

From equations and , we can also say that

Therefore, is true. These four red equations are very important and
you should be very familiar with them. (It doesn't mean that you should memorize
these formulae. Learn by using them.)

QUESTION: What is the final velocity of a car that accelerated 10 m/s2 from rest
and traveled 180m?
m/s

Section 5. Acceleration Due to Gravity

Galileo was the first to find out that all objects falling to Earth have a constant
acceleration of 9.80 m/s2 regardless of their mass. Acceleration due to gravity is
given a symbol g, which equals to 9.80 m/s2.

Therefore, if you drop a pen, it should behave like this...

Time (s) Velocity (m/s) Displacement (m)

0 0 0
1 9.8 4.9
2 19.6 19.6
3 29.4 44.1
4 39.2 78.4

For all previous equations, we can substitute g for a:

Here is your chance to apply what you've learned in this chapter.

Acceleration is defined as change in velocity per unit time. You should be able to
calculate average velocity. You should be familiar with velocity-time graphs.
Acceleration, velocity and displacement are closely related to each other. You should
be able to manipulate them to solve problems.

You can use the formula sheet if you need help.

You should have a sheet of paper and a pencil with you.

Chapter 3 Quiz:

1. How long does it take for a car to change its velocity from 10 m/s to 25 m/s if the
acceleration is 5 m/s2?

2. A rat and a cat is 35 m apart. When the rat started to run at 2 km/h (0.556 m/s), the
cat started to chase him at 1 m/s2. Can the cat catch the rat in 10 seconds?

(yes/no)

3. A car has a constant acceleration of 4 m/s2, starting from rest.

a. How fast is it traveling after 5 seconds? m/s

b. How far is it traveling after 5 seconds? m

c. How far has it traveled by the time it reached the speed of 40 m/s?
m

4. A car is at velocity of 20 km/h. If the car traveled 120 km in 3 hours at constant

acceleration, what is its final velocity?

km/h

5. A car travels at constant acceleration of 5 m/s2 from rest. How far has it traveled
by the time it reached the velocity of 72 km/h (20 m/s)?

6. How long will it take for a falling object to reach 108 m/s if its initial velocity is
10 m/s?

7. What is the final velocity of an apple if it falls from a 100m-tree?