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 formulas |
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\(\large{ \bar {a} = \frac{ \Delta v }{ \Delta t } }\) \(\large{ \bar {a} = \frac{ v_f \;-\; v_i }{ t_f \;-\; t_i } }\) |
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Symbol | English | Metric |
\(\large{ \bar {a} }\) = average acceleration | \(\large{\frac{ft}{sec^2}}\) | \(\large{\frac{m}{s^2}}\) |
\(\large{ \Delta t }\) = time change | \(\large{sec}\) | \(\large{s}\) |
\(\large{ t_f }\) = final time | \(\large{sec}\) | \(\large{s}\) |
\(\large{ t_i }\) = initial time | \(\large{sec}\) | \(\large{s}\) |
\(\large{ \Delta v }\) = velocity change | \(\large{\frac{ft}{sec}}\) | \(\large{\frac{m}{s}}\) |
\(\large{ v_f }\) = final velocity | \(\large{\frac{ft}{sec}}\) | \(\large{\frac{m}{s}}\) |
\(\large{ v_i }\) = initial velocity | \(\large{\frac{ft}{sec}}\) | \(\large{\frac{m}{s}}\) |
Tags: Acceleration Equations