Name ______________________________
Period _____
ACCELERATION WORD PROBLEMS
Acceleration describes the rate at which velocity changes. To calculate the acceleration of an
object moving in a straight line, use the following formula:
Acceleration = final velocity – initial velocity
Time
•
•
•
OR
a = Vf - Vi
t
Velocity is measured in meters per second (m/s)
Time is measured in seconds (s)
Acceleration is meters per second per second (m/s2)
Note:
•
To earn full marks when solving word problems, you MUST SHOW ALL OF YOUR WORK:
1. Full formula
2. Correct values inserted
into the formula from
the word problem
3.
Correct answer, rounded 4. Correct metric
to the correct number of
units
significant figures
Sample Problems:
1. Jeffrey is on his skateboard and starts skating down a ramp. Ten seconds later he is travelling at
20.0 m/s. What was his acceleration? (Round to 2 decimal places)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Word Problems:
1. A car goes from 4.47 m/s to 17.9 m/s in 3 seconds.
a. Did this car speed up or slow down?
b. Should your answer be positive or negative? Explain your reasoning.
c.
Calculate the acceleration of the car.
2. An airplane flying at a velocity of 610 m/s lands and comes to a complete stop over a 53 second
period of time.
a. Did this airplane speed up or slow down?
b. Should your answer be positive or negative? Explain your reasoning.
c.
Calculate the acceleration of the plane.
Name ______________________________
Period _____
3. A dragster in a race accelerated from rest to 60 m/s by the time it reached the finish line. The
dragster moved the distance from start to finish in 8.3 seconds. What is the dragsters acceleration?
4. A car slows down from 50.0 m/s to 20.0 m/s in 6.0 s. What is the acceleration?
5. A spaceship is travelling at 20,000.0 m/s. After 5.0 seconds, the rocket thrusters are turned on.
At the 55.0 second mark, the ship has a velocity of 24,000.0 m/s. What is the acceleration of the
rocket?
6. A driver starts his parked car and within 4.6 seconds, reaches a velocity of 15.0 m/s. What is his
acceleration?
7. A swimmer speeds up from 1.1 m/s to 3.2 m/s during the last 13.0 seconds of the race. What is
the acceleration of the swimmer?
8. A 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S goes from 0-27 m/s in 2.5 seconds. What is the car’s acceleration?
9. A sixth grader moves down the hall at 1.2 m/s. When he sees a bunch of eighth graders
coming, he begins to run. After 3.2 s, he is moving at 3.6 m/s. What is his acceleration?
10. The gravitational force on Mars is much lower than the gravitational force on Earth (acceleration
due to gravity on Earth accelerates falling objects at 9.8 m/s 2). If a dropped hammer’s speed
increases from 0.0 m/s to 15.0 m/s in 4.04 s, what is the acceleration due to gravity on Mars?