*Which of the following is an example of acceleration?
A.After a traffic light turns green, a car speeds up
B: A football player slows to a stop after scoring a touchdown
C: A car driving 30 mi/h turns left at an intersection
D: All of the above
acceleration is a vector, it has magnitude and direction (with compass). It is the rate of change of the velocity vector.
If you speed up, that is acceleration
If you slow down, that is acceleration (even though negative)
If you change direction, that is acceleration
NOTE: all of those require force. Remember that. (Your tires do)
To determine which of the options is an example of acceleration, we need to understand what acceleration means. Acceleration refers to the rate at which an object changes its velocity. It can be a change in speed, direction or both.
Now, let's analyze each option:
Option A: After a traffic light turns green, a car speeds up. Here, the car is increasing its speed, hence a change in velocity is occurring. This is an example of acceleration.
Option B: A football player slows to a stop after scoring a touchdown. In this scenario, the football player is decreasing his speed until he comes to a stop. This indicates a change in velocity but in the opposite direction. Since acceleration refers to any change in velocity, both positive and negative, this is also an example of acceleration.
Option C: A car driving 30 mi/h turns left at an intersection. In this case, the car is changing its direction but maintaining a constant speed. There is no change in velocity, so this is not an example of acceleration.
Based on the analysis above, options A and B are examples of acceleration, while option C is not. Therefore, the correct option is:
D: All of the above