Is constant accleration, 1 m/s^2 or 0 m/s^2?

eburge

Constant acceleration means that an object has a velocity that keeps changing constantly. The amount of acceleration is the same. If an object is moving at 2 m/s after 1 second, 4 m/s after 2 seconds, 6 m/s after 3 seconds, and so on, then it has a constant acceleration (ie. its velocity is increasing by 2m/s every second). Jan 04 10, 10:48 PM

looney_tunes

Actually, a constant acceleration of 0 produces a constant velocity change of 0 m/s each second. It doesn't matter what number you put in, if the acceleration can be described by a number, it is constant. This is not necessarily the case - acceleration may change with time (for instance it might be described as 2t m/s^2) or with position (e.g., a=3x m/s^2). The force which produces simple harmonic motion (such as an ideal pendulum or an ideal oscillating spring) is described as a = -kx^2, where k is some number whose value depends on the exact system you are considering. This link lets you explore what happens when you change the number that describes the constant acceleration of an object. http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph11e/acceleration.htm Jan 04 10, 11:53 PM