General question about accleration of box on inclined plane

AI Thread Summary
A box on a frictionless incline can experience positive acceleration depending on the chosen coordinate system. Acceleration is a vector quantity, and its sign is determined by the orientation of the coordinate axes. For instance, if the Z-axis is defined to point downward, gravity's acceleration can be considered positive. Consistency in the coordinate system is crucial for correctly interpreting acceleration values. Therefore, it is indeed possible for the box to have positive acceleration if the coordinate system is defined accordingly.
hager
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Homework Statement


Is it possible for a box going down on a frictionless incline plane to have not a negative accleration but positive accleration? Please help, it is confusing.


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution

 
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hager said:

Homework Statement


Is it possible for a box going down on a frictionless incline plane to have not a negative accleration but positive accleration? Please help, it is confusing.


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


Acceleration is a vector quantity. So the sign of the vector depends on how you choose your coordinate system. If an object is free-falling at the surface of the Earth, then the acceleration due to gravity "g" is positive if the Z axis points down, and negative if it points up. As long as you keep your coordinate system consistent, you could choose either way.
 

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