Acceleration and Free Fall

Chapter 2.2 and 2.3

What is acceleration?
Acceleration

measures the rate of

change in velocity.

Average

acceleration = change in
velocity/ time required for change

Units for acceleration

aavg

m/s m
2
s
s

Sign is very important!

Acceleration

has both direction and

magnitude
A negative

value for acceleration does

not always mean an object is
decelerating!!

2-4 Acceleration
Increasing speed and deceleration (decreasing
speed) should not be confused with the
directions of velocity and acceleration:
Speeding up, moving to the right

Slowing down, moving to the left

Slowing down, moving to the right

Speeding up, moving to the left

Fill in the Chart

Initial Velocity Acceleration

Motion

Speeding up, moving

right/up

Speeding up, moving

left/down

Slowing Down
moving right/up

Slowing Down,
moving left/down

- or +

Constant Velocity

- or +

Speeding up from
rest

Remaining at rest

Graph of Velocity vs Time

Question: What does the slope of this graph give you?
Answer: ACCELERATION
Rise = v
Run t

Vf VAVG = v

tf ti = t

 The

Kinematic Equations

You

are going to loooooove these!

Motion with constant acceleration

Kinematic
The

Equations

relationships between displacement,

velocity and constant acceleration are
expressed by equations that apply to any
object moving with constant
acceleration.

Displacement with constant acceleration

1
x (vi v f )t
2
x

= displacement
Vi = initial velocity
Vf

= final velocity

= time interval

Example: #1 p.53 in book

A car

accelerates uniformly from rest to

a speed of 23.7 km/h in 6.5 s. Find the
distance the car travels during this time.
x

= displacement= distance= ?
Vi = initial velocity = rest = 0 km/h
Vf

= final velocity = 23.7 km/h

= time interval = 6.5 s

Look at final velocityconvert to m/s!!!

Problem Solving
Final

velocity
km 1000m
1h
m
23.7
x
x
6.58
conversion
h
1km 3600s
s

Plug

in values and
solve for x

1 m
m
x (0 6.58 )(6.5s ) 21m
2 s
s

Velocity with constant uniform acceleration

v f vi at
Vf = final velocity
Vi = initial velocity
a = acceleration
t = time interval

Example: #2 p.55
An

automobile with an initial speed of

4.30 m/s accelerates uniformly at the
rate of 3.0 m/s2. Find the final speed
after 5.0 seconds.

Vf = final velocity=?
Vi = initial velocity = 4.3 m/s
a = acceleration= 3.0 m/s^2
t = time interval= 5.0 s

Solve
Plug

in values and
solve for Vf

m
m
v f 4.3 (3.0 2 )(5.0 s )
s
s
Vf= 19 m/s

Displacement with constant uniform acceleration

1
2
x vi t a (t )
2
x = displacement
Vi = initial velocity
a = acceleration
t = time interval

Example: #2 p.55
An

automobile with an initial speed of 4.30 m/s

accelerates uniformly at the rate of 3.0 m/s 2.
Find the displacement after 5.0 seconds.

x = displacement=??
Vi = initial velocity= 4.30 m/s
a = acceleration= 3.0 m/s^2
t = time interval= 5.0 s

Solve!
Plug

in values and
solve for
displacement

m
1
m
x (4.3 )(5.0s ) (3.0 2 )(5.0 s ) 2 59m
s
2
s

Final Velocity after any displacement

v v 2ax
2
f

2
i

Vf = final velocity
Vi = initial velocity
a = acceleration
x = displacement

Example: p.58 #3
A car

accelerates uniformly in a straight

line from rest at the rate of 2.3 m/s^2.
What is the speed of the car after it has
traveled 55 m?
Vf = final velocity=??
Vi = initial velocity= rest= 0 m/s
a = acceleration= 2.3 m/s^2
x = displacement= 55 m

Solve

2
m
m
m
2
2
v f (0 ) 2(2.3 2 )(55m) 253 2
s
s
s

2
m
m
2
v f 253 2 v f 16
s
s

Rearranging
Your

problems wont always be so

straightforwardmake sure to rearrange
your equations to solve for the unknown
before plugging in your numbers (with
units!)

Section 2-3 Falling Objects

Free

Fall: Neglecting air resistance, all

objects fall with the same constant
acceleration

Acceleration due to gravity

m
g 9.81 2
s

Free Fall Acceleration

However, acceleration is a vector.

Gravity acts toward the earth (down)

Therefore, the acceleration of

objects in free fall near the surface of
the earth is

m
a g 9.81 2
s

What we see because of air

resistance

Object falling from rest

Path of a projectile
At top of path
v= 0 m/s
a = -9.81 m/s2

Free Fall Acceleration

At

the highest point of an arc, an object has

velocity = 0 m/s, acceleration is still -9.81
m/s2

An

object thrown into themair is a freely

falling body with vi 0

Free Fall Problem p.64 #2

A flowerpot

falls from a windowsill 25.0

m above the sidewalk
A.

How fast is the flowerpot moving when it

strikes the ground?

B.

How much time does a paserby on the

sidewalk below have to move out of the way
before the flowerpot hits the ground?

Part. A.

What are we looking for: Vf

What do we know?

Displacement: -25 m
Acceleration: -9.81 m/s2
Vi=0 m/s

What equation should we use??

v 2f vi2 2 ax

Solve the problem

v f v 2ax
2
i

m
m
v f 0 2(9.81 2 )(25m)
s
s

m
v f 22.1
s

Part b.

How much time before

the flowerpot hits the
ground?

What do we know?
Displacement= -25.0 m
Acceleration = -9.81
m/s2
V initial= 0
V final = -22.1 m/s
What are we looking
for: Time!
Which equation should
we use??

v f vi at

Solve the Problem

v f vi at
v f vi
a

m
22.1 0
s
t
m
9.81 2
s

t 2.25s