Revise: AccelerationMeasuring acceleration from rest
Acceleration is the change in speed or velocity of an object over a certain time. It can be calculated by dividing the change in velocity by the total time.
It is not quite accurate to say you can measure acceleration. It is more accurate to say we measure things like time and distance and then use these measurements in order to calculate the acceleration of an object.
Consider a simple example of a trolley rolling down a slope.
To calculate acceleration of an object, you need to know the initial velocity, u, the final velocity, v and the time between these velocities being measured, t.
To investigate the acceleration of a trolley down a ramp from rest, we can find all these values:
initial velocity, u - The trolley starts from rest, so this is zero
final velocity, v - This can calculated by passing a known width of card (distance) through a light gate that is attached to a timer that records the time it takes for the card to pass through the light gate.
time between these velocities being measured, t - This can be measured using a stop clock.
We now use the following equation to calculate the acceleration:
\(a=\frac{(v-u)}{t}\)
Watch this video to see the correct procedure for carrying out this investigation.
How to measure the acceleration of a trolley from rest.
