Speed and Acceleration

1
Speed and Acceleration

• By Ryan Pedrigi
• Resident Scientist/Mathematician

2
What is speed?

• A way of describing how fast something is
  moving.
• More technically, speed is the rate of change of
  an objects position with respect to time.

3
Calculation of Speed

• There are a couple of different ways to calculate
  speed
• Average speed, S, is simply the change in
  position, x, divided by the time, t, taken to
  travel that distance

Maximum Speed 62 mph
4
Applications of Speed British Thrust SSC Max
Speed 763 MPH
5
Applications of Speed Supersonic Flight Max
Speed 1650 MPH (Mach 2.2)
6
Applications of Speed Sky Diver Terminal
Velocity 200 MPH
7
Sample Problem Speed

• A runner runs a 400 meter race in a time of 50
  seconds.
• What is her average speed?

8
What is Acceleration?

• A way of describing how fast something is
  speeding up or slowing down.
• More technically, acceleration is the rate of
  change of an objects speed with respect to time.

9
Calculation of Acceleration

• As with speed, there are a couple of different
  ways to calculate acceleration
• Average acceleration, a, is simply the time rate
  of change of speed, S,

10
Applications of Acceleration Lamborghini Accel.
15.38 MPH/sec 22.56 ft/sec2
Engine 6 liter, V12Horsepower 550 _at_ 7100
RPMMaximum Speed 210 MPH0-60 3.9 sec0-100
8.8 secPrice 275,000
11
Applications of Acceleration Space Shuttle
Accel. 64.87 MPH/sec 95.14 ft/sec2
Speed Attained gt 17,500 MPHTime to Low Orbit
11 min.Time to Space 45 min.
12
Sample Problem Acceleration

• A motorcycle turns the corner of a race track at
  85 MPH and then speeds up to 150 MPH on the
  straightaway. Knowing that it took 5 seconds to
  change speed, what is the average acceleration?