The change in the speed of a rover depends on a quantity called acceleration.
To calculate the acceleration of a mobile we must apply the following mathematical expression:
Where:
∆V = speed variation, final speed minus initial speed.
vi = initial speed
Vf = final velocity
∆V = Vf - Vi
∆t = time variation, end time minus start time.
∆t = tf - ti
ti = start time
tf = end time
Example 1
When hunting, a cheetah - starting from rest - reaches a speed of 72 km/h in 2 seconds. What is your acceleration in that time frame?
As it starts from rest, we have:
Vi = 0 Km/h
Vf = 72 km/h = 20 m/s
ti = 0 s
tf =2 s
a = 20/2
a = 10 m/s2
Example2
An airplane starts from rest and, with constant acceleration, reaches a speed of 450 km/h in 25 seconds (s). What is the plane's acceleration?
Vi = 0 Km/h
Vf = 450 km/h = 125 m/s
ti = 0 s
tf =25 s
a = 125 / 25
a = 5 m/s2
Example 3
During a stretch of the race, a Formula 1 car increases its speed from 100 km/h to 260 km/h, doing this in 4 seconds. What is your average acceleration on this stretch?
Vi = 100 Km/h = 27.8 m/s
Vf = 260 km/h = 72.2 m/s
ti = 0 s
tf = 4 s
a = (72.2 - 27.8) / (4 - 0)
a = 44.4 / 4
a = 11.11 m/s2
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
by Mark Noah
Graduated in Mathematics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Marcos Noé Pedro da. "Calculating the Average Acceleration of a Movable"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/matematica/calculo-aceleracao-media-um-movel.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
