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Acceleration

on . Posted in Classical Mechanics

acceleration 8Acceleration, abbreviated as a, is the rate of change of velocity with time.  Like velocity, this is a vector quantity that has a direction as well as a magnitude.  Whenever a mass experiences a force, an acceleration is acting.  An increase in velocity is commonly called acceleration while a decrease in velocity is deceleration.

Acceleration is a vector quantity having magnitude and direction, some of these include displacement, drag, force, lift, momentum, thrust, torque, velocity and weight.

Acceleration Types

Angular Acceleration  -  An object is the rate at which the angle velocity changes with respect to time.
Centripetal Acceleration  -  The change in the velocity, which is a vector, either in speed or direction as an object makes its way around a circular path.
Constant Acceleration  -  An object is the constant rate in a straight line at which the velocity changes with respect to time.
Gravitational Acceleration  -  The force on an object caused only by gravity.
Instantaneous Acceleration  -  The acceleration at a particular moment in time along its path.
Linear Acceleration  -  The change in linear velocity of an object in a straight line.
Tangential Acceleration  -  How much the tangential velocity of a point at a radius changes with time.
Uniform Acceleration  -  When an object is traveling in a straight line with a uniform increase in velocity at equal intervals of time.
Non-uniform Acceleration  -  When an object is traveling with a uniform increase in velocity but not at equal intervals of time.

Acceleration Formula

\( a \;=\; \dfrac{ \Delta v }{ t } \)     (Acceleration)

\( \Delta v \;=\; a \cdot t  \)

\( t \;=\; \dfrac{ \Delta v }{ a } \)
Symbol English Metric
\( a \) = Acceleration \(ft \;/\; sec^2\) \(m \;/\; s^2\)
\( \Delta v \) = Velocity Change \(ft \;/\; sec\) \(m \;/\; s\)
\( t \) = Time \(sec\) \(s\)

    

Acceleration Formula

\( a \;=\; \dfrac{ F }{ m } \)     (Acceleration)

\( F \;=\; a \cdot m \)

\( m \;=\; \dfrac{ F }{ a } \)
Symbol English Metric
\( a \) = Acceleration \(ft \;/\; sec^2\) \(m \;/\; s^2\)
\( F \) = Force \(lbf\) \(N\) 
\( m \) = Mass \(lbm\) \(kg\)

 

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