Acceleration

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/acceleration

1. What is the vector quantity?
2. What is the mathematical definition?
3. How does acceleration happen when something turns?
4. Why do heavier objects accelerate less than lighter ones when the same force is applied?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the vector quantity?Describes change in velocity (speed and direction)
2. What is the mathematical definition?Derivative of velocity with respect to time (a = dv/dt)
3. How does acceleration happen when something turns?Even if the speed stays the same, turning changes the direction of velocity, so the object has centripetal acceleration pointing toward the center of the circle.
4. Why do heavier objects accelerate less than lighter ones when the same force is applied?Newton's Second Law says acceleration equals force divided by mass, so a heavier mass gets a smaller acceleration from the same force.

Velocity: A vector quantity representing speed and direction of motion.
Force: An interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object.
Mass: A fundamental property of matter, measuring its resistance to acceleration.
Net Force: The vector sum of all forces acting on an object.