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Acceleration

Uniform acceleration

If the velocity is changing steadily the acceleration is given by the simple formula:

Acceleration (a) = [Final velocity (v) – Initial velocity (u)]/Time taken (t)

a = [v – u]/t     or     v = u + at

The units for acceleration are ms-2.

Non uniform acceleration

However if the acceleration is not uniform the more general definition must be used:

Acceleration (a) = rate of change of velocity = dv/dt = change in velocity/time

The acceleration at a given time is therefore the gradient of the velocity-time curve at that time.

 
 
 
© Keith Gibbs 2011