This is not for a test or homework, I just want to understand theconcept of acce

Question

This is not for a test or homework, I just want to understand theconcept of acceleration. So if you can explain the concept ofacceleration by relating it to the statements below, it would helpa lot. thank you.

True or False? Define east as the negative direction and westas the positive direction.
a) If a car is traveling east, its acceleration must beeastward
b) If a car is slowing down, its acceleration may be positive.
c) An object with constant nonzero acceleration can never stop andstay stopped.

Explanation / Answer

Part A) false. acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, whichis completely independent of the instantaneous velocity. sothe car could be accelerating westward (slowing down) but still bemoving eastward. Part B) false. i'm going to assume "slowing down" means decreasingspeed (the magnitude of the velocity). the car could betraveling eastward(negative), but be accelerating westward(positive). it would then be slowing down until it hits zeroand then starts moving westward. the direction ofacceleration and velocity do not need to be the same. Part C) true. acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. and if the velocity is always changing at the same constant rate(either increasing its eastward or westward velocity), then the carwould never stop and eventually it would have infinite velocity inone direction.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.