Published on Texas Gateway (https://texasgateway.org)
Section Summary
  • Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity and may be negative or positive.
  • Average acceleration is expressed in m/s2 and, in one dimension, can be calculated using a ¯ = Δv Δt = v f − v 0 t f − t o . a ¯ = Δv Δt = v f − v 0 t f − t o .
  • The kinematic equations show how time, displacement, velocity, and acceleration are related for objects in motion.
  • In general, kinematic problems can be solved by identifying the kinematic equation that expresses the unknown in terms of the knowns.
  • Displacement, velocity, and acceleration may be displayed graphically versus time.