Average Acceleration

Average acceleration, abbreviated as \( \bar {a} \), is the change of velocity over an elapsed amount of time.  Whereas, instantaneous accleration is the change of velocity at a specific point in time.  As an example, if a vehicle is initially traveling at 100 feet per second and slows down to 50 feet per second over 60 seconds, the average acceleration over 60 seconds is - 8.3 ft per second.  The equation and calulation for average acceleration is shown below. 

 

Average acceleration formula
\( \bar {a} =  \Delta v \;/\; \Delta t   \)     (Average Acceleration) \( \Delta v =  \bar {a} \; \Delta t   \) \( \Delta t =  \Delta v \;/\; \bar {a}   \)
Symbol	English	Metric
\( \bar {a} \) = average acceleration	\(ft / sec^2\)	\(m / s^2\)
\( \Delta v \) = velocity change	\(ft / sec\)	\(m / s\)
\( \Delta t \) = time change	\(sec\)	\(s\)