How can a body have a velocity east and acceleration west?

[IntegrateMe]

Can anyone explain a real scenario in which this would be possible?

Also, I've read about velocity and acceleration, but their differences still seem to confuse me. How can I better distinguish between the two?

 

[flatmaster]

You are running east and begin to slow down. Your velocity is still to the east because that is the direction you are going. You are accelerating to the west because your eastward velocity is decreasing.

 

[zgozvrm]

... in other words, in order for an object to change speed, there must be acceleration. If the acceleration was in the same direction as you are running, you would speed up. If the acceleration was at some angle not directly in line with your path of travel, you would veer off course. Lastly, if the acceleration is against you, you will slow down. This is known as negative acceleration (also known as deceleration).

 

[fawk3s]

The definition of acceleration is the change of speed per time unit. The common equation for linear acceleration is

a = v - v0 / t

where
a - acceleration
v - final speed
v0 - initial speed
t - time

Hope this helps a bit.