Acceleration (T1)

Question 1

Acceleration is…

Answer 1

The rate at which objects change their velocity

Question 2

How do you calculate accelration?

Answer 2

Acceleration (a) = change in velocity / time taken (t)

Change in velocity = final velocity (v) - initial velocity (u)

a = (v - u) / t

Question 3

Slowing down is known as…

Answer 3

Deceleration

Question 4

What experiment did Galileo develop to investigate why a ball rolling down a slope speeds up?

Answer 4

• he positioned bells on a slope at lengthening intervals so the bells rang at equal, 0.5s intervals as the ball hit them
• to calculate the average speed of the ball between each bell he divided the bell’s distance from the start by the time it took the ball to get there
• as we are calculation the average speed between each 0.5s interval, to enter the graph onto a velocity-time graph we plot the middle of each interval (0.25s)
• the line is straight showing the ball’s velocity is increasing by equal amounts in equal time periods
• this is known as uniform acceleration

Question 5

How can you acceleration from the line on a velocity-time graph?

Answer 5

• make two points on each axis, as far up and down the line as possible
• y1, y2, x1, x2

Gradient / acceleration = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

Question 6

What does the gradient on a velocity-time graph give us?

Answer 6

Acceleration

Question 7

Acceleration is inversely proportional to mass. Explain.

Answer 7

For a given unbalanced force acting on a body, doubling the mass will halve the acceleration

Question 8

How do you calculate speed?

Answer 8

Speed (v) = distance travelled (d) / time taken (t)

v = d / t

Question 9

What does displacement mean in terms of motion?

Answer 9

Distance travelled in a specific direction

Question 10

What does velocity mean?

Answer 10

Speed in a specific direction

Question 11

How can you calculate acceleration by rearranging Newton’s famous equation?

Answer 11

Acceleration = force / mass

a = F / m