Velocity and Acceleration

8SCIENCE Thurs. May 5/Fri. May 6

Review: Forces and Motion/Speed
What is speed?
Rate of change of a position

How do you calculate average speed?
Average speed = total distance
time

What is displacement?
Change in position including a
direction

What is velocity?
Rate of change of displacement
How Velocity and
Acceleration are related
Velocity provides more information by including
a direction of movement
You can sense a change in velocity
Example: when a car starts driving and quickly slows down, you can feel a change
in velocity
- When you slow down or stop, your body may push against the seatbelt
These changes in velocity: speeding up, slowing
down and turning are all forms of acceleration
Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity
(speed with direction)

Acceleration may be positive or negative:
Positive accelerates in the direction it
is moving (speeds up)
Ex: riding your bike forward and pedal
harder to speed up

Negative accelerates in
the opposite direction to its movement (slows down)
Ex: riding your bike and pushing the brake slows you down
Positive and Negative Acceleration
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
POSITIVE
Calculating Acceleration
Average acceleration (a) = change in velocity (v - v)
time (t)
Usually in m/s

Example: If a student takes 2 s (seconds) to go from velocity of 0m/s to a
velocity of 4m/s, what is the average acceleration?


Example: If a car begins at a velocity of 2m/s and then speeds up to 18m/s over
4 s what is the average acceleration?


Example: What does it mean if your acceleration is 0m/s?
- This means you are not moving or that you are moving at a constant speed, and
not speeding up/slowing down i.e. parked car, driving at a constant rate of
60km/h

Motion: Calculating Acceleration minilab pg. 152
1) Work with a partner. One of you should clap a slow, steady beat. The other partner should move
along the taped course, stepping beside each line on the piece of tape.
2) You should try and step beside each piece of tape on the beat of your partners claps.
3) Create the table below to record information: Calculate the change in displacement (velocity)
and the change in velocity (acceleration) for each time
*Remember:
velocity = displacement
time


Displacement = change
in position

Acceleration =
final velocity initial velocity
time


4) Experience negative acceleration by moving through the course from 3.6 0 while your partner
claps a steady beat.
QUESTION:
1) As you move through the course forward and backward, does your velocity change?
Time (t)
claps
Distance (d)
in meters
Velocity (v)
(m/clap)
Acceleration (a)
(m/clap)
0 0
1 0.1
2 0.4
3 0.9
4 1.6
5 2.5
6 3.6