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-   -   What is the equation for acceleration? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=224710)

  • Jun 8, 2008, 05:53 PM
    dooky d
    what is the equation for acceleration?
    I don't no the equation for acceleration and what are the variables
  • Jun 8, 2008, 08:45 PM
    KISS
    s=distance
    ds/dt = velocity = v
    dv/dt = acceleration = a

    e.g. if s(t) = 3t; s in miles, t in hours
    then v = ds/dt = 3 mph and a = dv/dt = 0

    or

    if v = 3 mph then s = integral from 0 to t of 3 dt; s= 3t|t=3 - 3t|t=0 --> s= 3t
  • Jun 9, 2008, 11:03 AM
    ebaines
    I have a suspicion that the OP is not a calculus student, so let me try to answer the question in simpler terms than KISS did:

    Acceleration is the measure of how quickly an object's velocity is changing. It can be calculated from:


    where is change in velocity and is change in time . For example, if an object is moving at 10 m/s at time t=0, and at 20 m/s at time t = 5 seconds, then its acceleration is:



    This approach works fine for cases where acceleration is constant, such as when an object is subjected to a constant force (such as the force of gravity).

    Note that the units of acceleration are distance per time squared - typically meters per second per second as in this example, or feet per second squared, or maybe MPH per second. Hope this helps - post back if you have a more specific question.

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