Acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity over time. It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction.
Acceleration can be calculated by dividing the change in velocity by the change in time. The formula for acceleration is a = (vf - vi) / t, where vf is the final velocity, vi is the initial velocity, and t is the time interval.
Acceleration is typically measured in meters per second squared (m/s²) in the SI system. Other common units include centimeters per second squared (cm/s²) and kilometers per hour squared (km/h²).
The acceleration of a system can be affected by various factors, such as the mass of the object, the force applied to the object, and any external forces acting on the system. The direction of the force also plays a role in determining the acceleration.
Acceleration is a crucial concept in many real-world applications, such as predicting the motion of objects in sports, designing vehicles and machines, and understanding the behavior of celestial bodies in space. It is also used in everyday scenarios, such as calculating the acceleration of a car during braking or a roller coaster during a loop.