You can define acceleration as the rate at which speed changes. It relates to the velocity, but Newton’s second law explains it best: Acceleration is in proportion to all forces that drive an object in a direction. If you have several different powers, you can work out what their force is then divide it by the mass of the object.
You can then establish that force and acceleration are the same things. Force can change, so the acceleration can too. The severity of the change can depend on the object’s mass. However, if the object’s mass changes, that theory is not correct.
If you want to measure acceleration, you can use an accelerometer. When you hang something on the meter, it shows a non-zero value because the force acts on everything that has mass. When there is a net force, acceleration occurs. If an accelerator is at its resting measurement, it measures the earth’s gravity which is 32.17 ft/s².
You can use an acceleration calculator if the object you are looking to calculate has a consistent and constant acceleration. It then calculates the acceleration using the ratio of velocity change to the time change. There are also other methods for calculating acceleration. You can use a velocity calculator to determine what it is, too.
Method One: Enter the initial and final speeds of your object into the speed difference calculator as well as how long it took to change the speed.
Method Two: Use the Distance Traveled calculator. Enter the initial speed, the traveled distance, and the time that passed. You will not need to know the final speed.
Method Three: If you would prefer to follow the practices of Newton’s Law, then you can use the Net Force calculator. Enter the object’s mass and net force to get the acceleration.
If you want to analyze an object’s motion, you need to work out the acceleration.
Most people know that Sir Isaac Newton was one of the most influential scientists of the 17th century – and he still is today. He discovered that when two mass objects attract each other, the force depends on the distance between the objects. The weight of the objects also matters. Gravitational force increases based on how large they are.
Many people also know Isaac Newton for his laws of motion which appear prominently in the world of physics.
1. a = (v_f - v_i) / Δt
2. a = 2 * (Δd - v_i x Δt) / Δt²
3. a = F / m
a = acceleration
v_i = initial velocity
v_f = final velocity
Δt = acceleration time
Δd = distance traveled during acceleration
F = net force
M = mass
Above, you learned how vital acceleration was for establishing an object’s motion. You also learned Newton’s three laws of motion for how to calculate acceleration. Now, you can determine the units of acceleration.
Speed is calculated using feet or meters per second, depending on your preference for the imperial or metric system. Knowing this, you can now divide speed by time in feet or meters per second.
Or, you can use the third law of motion which involves dividing pounds by mass to get N/kg or pdl/lb. Both of these are the same thing and get the same results.
There is also another option whereby you express acceleration with standard acceleration which occurs because of gravity near the earth’s surface. This is:
Gravity = 32.17405 ft/s² = 9.80665m/s².
Acceleration is something you can deconstruct so you can understand it better. Two types of acceleration are known as centripetal and tangential.
Centripetal acceleration is responsible for changing the velocity’s direction. However, it doesn’t alter the velocity’s value. Tangential acceleration sits perpendicular to the motion trajectory and changes the value of the velocity but not its direction. Therefore, the two have different jobs to do.
Imagine a circle with an object moving around the outside of it. The direction of it is the centripetal acceleration. The object’s speed remains consistent and constant. When you bring tangential acceleration into the picture, it changes the velocity value but not its direction.
Another kind of acceleration is angular, the type that deals in rotational motion. The angular acceleration tells you the speed of the rotation and whether it spins faster or slower. This form of acceleration is also interchangeable with regular acceleration, as is a mass with a moment of inertia and torque with force in Newton’s Law of Dynamics.
Gravitational acceleration refers to the force between two object masses. As you now know from Newton’s Third Law of Motion, the earth uses the same amount of force on you as you use on it, but as the planet is bigger than you, you don’t feel the gravity.
How this fits into an acceleration calculator:
Standard gravity = 31.17405 ft/s²
Average human weight = 137 pounds
To get the gravitational force = 4270.84 pdl
On the opposite end of the spectrum is particle acceleration – small things like protons and electrons. These particles are so small that scientists have to use a particle accelerator called The Large Hadron Collider to measure and accelerate them. You can use the Large Hadron Collider to speed up the particles to nearly the speed of light – making use of electric or magnetic fields.
