Acceleration

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Acceleration is the rate at which an object's velocity changes over time. It's measured in metres per second squared (m/s²). Whenever an object speeds up or slows down, it's accelerating.

Acceleration shows how fast something is increasing or decreasing its speed.

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You can calculate average acceleration with this formula:

\text{Acceleration} (a) = \frac{\text{Change in velocity} (\Delta v)}{\text{Time taken} (t)}

Where:

a is the acceleration in metres per second squared (m/s²),
Δv the change in velocity in metres per second (m/s),
t is the time taken in seconds (s).

Δ (delta) means change, so Δv refers to the change in velocity.

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You can also write this as:

Δ v = v - u

Where:

v is the final velocity,
u is the initial velocity. By subtracting the starting velocity from the final velocity, you get the change in velocity.

Acceleration as a Vector

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Acceleration is a vector quantity, which means it has both size (magnitude) and direction. If acceleration is negative, it means the object is slowing down (deceleration).

Uniform Acceleration

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When an object has uniform acceleration, its velocity changes by the same amount during equal intervals of time. This means it's speeding up at a constant rate. If this is the case, you can use the following formula:

v2=u2+2as

Where:

v is the final velocity in metres per second (m/s),
u is the initial velocity in metres per second (m/s),
a is the acceleration in metres per second squared (m/s²),
s is the distance in metres (m).

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This equation is useful when you don't know the time taken. If the object starts from rest, then its initial velocity u is 0.

Acceleration Simplified Revision Notes for GCSE Edexcel Physics

Acceleration

Acceleration as a Vector

Uniform Acceleration

500K+ Students Use These Powerful Tools to Master Acceleration For their GCSE Exams.

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