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Acceleration

Author: Nathan Lampson

Acceleration is an increase in  velocity over time.  Velocity is a measure of both, the speed of an object and its direction. Even if an object is traveling at a constant speed it can be accelerating if it is changing direction. Accelerating objects can be represented with distance-versus-time graphs.  The slope of the graph is increasing because as time progresses the object is moving faster than the second before.

Example:

When a car accelerates from a stop light it increases its speed and the distance it is traveling each second.

 

Deceleration is when objects slow down.

 

Example:

A car decelerates when it slows to a stop at a red traffic light.

Acceleration