Average Acceleration of the object

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around determining the average acceleration of an object based on its displacement-time graph. It is established that if the object completes a round trip, the average velocity is zero, leading to the conclusion that the average acceleration could also be zero. However, participants clarify that the direction of displacement does not affect the average acceleration calculation, as the graph's representation remains consistent regardless of orientation. A suggestion is made to derive the function of the graph to calculate acceleration more accurately. The conversation emphasizes understanding the relationship between displacement, velocity, and acceleration in various directions.
icanletyougo
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Homework Statement



The graph of displacement as a function of time of the object is shown below
[PLAIN]http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8962/displaceemt.jpg
What is the average acceleration of the object ?

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


From the graph, I think the object is moving a round trip, so it will have the average velocity = 0, so the object will have average acceleration equal 0 too. But I'm not sure...
 
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welcome to pf!

hi icanletyougo! welcome to pf! :smile:

hint: suppose the direction of displacement is vertical …

then what is the object doing? :wink:​
 


tiny-tim said:
hi icanletyougo! welcome to pf! :smile:

hint: suppose the direction of displacement is vertical …

then what is the object doing? :wink:​

Yea...I know if the direction of displacement is vertical, the acceleration will be equal to the gravity...But if the direction of displacement is horizontal, I'm not sure about its acceleration...Thanks
 
hi icanletyougo! :smile:

(just got up :zzz: …)
icanletyougo said:
Yea...I know if the direction of displacement is vertical, the acceleration will be equal to the gravity...But if the direction of displacement is horizontal, I'm not sure about its acceleration...Thanks

the direction makes no difference …

the same graph represents the same speed and acceleration no matter which way up the direction is! :smile:

so what is the average acceleration? :wink:​
 
tiny-tim said:
hi icanletyougo! :smile:

(just got up :zzz: …)


the direction makes no difference …

the same graph represents the same speed and acceleration no matter which way up the direction is! :smile:

so what is the average acceleration? :wink:​


oK...Thank you so much...I got that...:)
 
an approach:

do you know the function of the graph? if not try to synthesize it from given data, probably of the form: x=a(t-b)^2+c.
after you have the function, you know that x''(t) = a(t).

what do you think?
 

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