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Acceleration worksheet
1. During a race, a runner runs at a speed of 6 m/s. Four
seconds later, she is running at a speed of 10 m/s. What is the
runner’s acceleration? Show your work.
a. 10 - 6 = 4
b. 4/4 seconds = 1m/s2 of accelertion
2. If you ride your bike at an average speed of 2 km/h and need to travel a total
distance of 20 km, how long will it take you to reach your destination? Show your
work.
a. 20/2 = 10 hours
3. Explain acceleration in your own words.
a. Acceleration is the rate of change in speed and direction or both, also known
as velocity. It is therefore a vector quantity, that shows magnitude and
direction.
4. Picture a ball traveling at a constant speed around the inside of a circular structure. Is
the ball accelerating? Explain your answer.
a. Yes, the ball is moving at a constant speed since it is a circular motion,
however, the acceleration is changing because it’s experiencing a constant
change in direction.
5. What types of changes in motion cause acceleration?
a. Acceleration is caused by changes in speed (increasing or decreasing) but
also in direction.
6. Bus A travels 300 m in 12 s. Bus B travels 200 m in 12 s. Both vehicles travel at
constant speed. How do the distance-time graphs for these two speeds differ?
a. The slope of bus A will be steeper than Bus B since A is moving faster. The
line will be straight because the speed is constant.
7. An airplane travels down a runway for 6 seconds with an acceleration of 10 m/s².
What is its change in velocity during this time?
a. 10 x 6 = 60
b. 60m/s was his velocity
8. A sprinter accelerates from the starting block to a speed of 8.0 m/s in 4.0 s. What is
the magnitude of the sprinter’s acceleration?
a. 8 - 0 = 8
b. 8/4 = 2 𝑚/𝑠2
9. A car is traveling at 14 m/s. Stepping on the gas pedal caused the car to accelerate
at 2.0 m/s². How long does the driver have to step on the pedal to reach a speed of
18 m/s?
a. 18 - 14 = 4 m/s
b. 4/2 = 2
c. 2 seconds
10. Why do objects fall faster the longer they fall toward Earth?
a. Because every second the objects is being pulled more and more by gravity.
As it reaches close to the ground, the gravity pulls harder accelerating the fall.
11. What is the rate of acceleration due to gravity?
a. 9.8 m/s2 is the rate of acceleration.