Scribd
Upload
3 views3 pages

Kinematics Misconception About Accelerations

The document discusses common misconceptions about velocity and acceleration, emphasizing that constant velocity implies zero acceleration, and that acceleration can exist even with constant speed in circular motion. It clarifies that speed and acceleration are independent, and the sign of acceleration indicates direction rather than whether an object is speeding up or slowing down. Additionally, it explains that negative velocity and negative acceleration refer to direction, not magnitude, and that both can be large regardless of their sign.

Uploaded by

Jerd Dela Gente
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3 views3 pages

Kinematics Misconception About Accelerations

The document discusses common misconceptions about velocity and acceleration, emphasizing that constant velocity implies zero acceleration, and that acceleration can exist even with constant speed in circular motion. It clarifies that speed and acceleration are independent, and the sign of acceleration indicates direction rather than whether an object is speeding up or slowing down. Additionally, it explains that negative velocity and negative acceleration refer to direction, not magnitude, and that both can be large regardless of their sign.

Uploaded by

Jerd Dela Gente
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

1. If the velocity is constant, then acceleration is also constant.

 Why this is wrong: Velocity is defined as the rate of change of position


with respect to time. Acceleration, on the other hand, is the rate of change
of velocity with respect to time. If velocity is constant, by definition, its
rate of change (acceleration) is zero.

o Key Point: For acceleration to exist, velocity must be changing—


either in magnitude (speeding up or slowing down) or in direction
(such as in circular motion). Constant velocity means the object is
moving in a straight line at a fixed speed, which implies no
acceleration.

o Example: Imagine a car cruising on a straight highway at 60 km/h.


Since the speed and direction don’t change, the car’s acceleration is
zero.

2. If the speed of the object is constant, then acceleration is zero.

 Why this is wrong: This holds true only for motion in a straight line. In
circular motion, even though the speed (the magnitude of velocity) is
constant, the direction of the velocity vector changes continuously. Since
acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity (which includes
both speed and direction), an object moving at constant speed in a circular
path experiences centripetal acceleration.

o Key Point: Acceleration is present if there’s a change in the


velocity vector. Velocity is a vector quantity (it has both magnitude
and direction), so even if the magnitude (speed) remains
unchanged, a change in direction results in acceleration.

o Example: A car moving around a circular track at a constant speed


of 50 km/h is still accelerating because its direction is constantly
changing, even though its speed remains constant. The acceleration
is directed towards the center of the circle (centripetal
acceleration).

3. If the object moves with a high speed, then its acceleration is also
high, and if the object moves with a low velocity, then the acceleration
is also low.

 Why this is wrong: Speed (or velocity) and acceleration are independent
quantities. High speed does not imply high acceleration, nor does low
speed imply low acceleration. Acceleration is about how quickly the
velocity is changing, not the velocity itself.
o Key Point: An object moving at high speed could have zero
acceleration if it's moving at constant speed. Conversely, an object
moving slowly could have high acceleration if its velocity is
changing rapidly.

o Example 1: A sports car driving at 100 km/h on a highway without


speeding up or slowing down has zero acceleration even though
its speed is high.

o Example 2: A car moving slowly in a parking lot may suddenly


speed up, showing high acceleration despite starting at a low
velocity.

4. If the acceleration is positive, then the object speeds up, and if the
acceleration is negative, then the object is slowing down.

 Why this is wrong: The sign of acceleration (positive or negative)


indicates direction, not necessarily whether the object is speeding up or
slowing down. Whether an object speeds up or slows down depends on the
relative direction of the velocity and acceleration vectors.

o Key Point:

 When acceleration is in the same direction as velocity, the


object speeds up.

 When acceleration is in the opposite direction of velocity,


the object slows down.

o Positive acceleration does not always mean speeding up. If the


object is moving in the negative direction (e.g., backward), a
positive acceleration would mean it is slowing down.

o Example 1 (speeding up): A car is moving east (positive velocity)


and the driver steps on the gas, increasing speed. The car has
positive acceleration and is speeding up.

o Example 2 (slowing down): A car is moving east (positive


velocity) but the driver presses the brakes. The car’s velocity
decreases, and the acceleration is negative (in the opposite
direction of motion), causing the car to slow down.

o Example 3 (negative acceleration but speeding up): A car is


moving west (negative velocity) and accelerates westward. The
car’s velocity is negative, and the acceleration is also negative, but
the car is speeding up because acceleration is in the same direction
as the velocity.
5. Negative velocity is a small velocity.

 Why this is wrong: Velocity is a vector quantity, meaning it has both


magnitude (how fast an object is moving) and direction (where it's
moving). The sign of velocity (positive or negative) indicates direction, not
size. The size (or magnitude) of velocity is always non-negative.

o Key Point: A negative velocity simply means the object is moving


in the opposite direction to what has been defined as the positive
direction. It has nothing to do with whether the object is moving
"slowly" or "fast."

o Example 1: A car moving at 50 km/h to the west might be assigned


a negative velocity if the east is defined as positive. The car’s
velocity would be -50 km/h, but this doesn’t mean the car is moving
slowly; it’s moving just as fast as a car moving east at +50 km/h.

o Example 2: A bicycle moving to the left at -20 m/s has a negative


velocity because it's moving leftward, but this doesn’t indicate
small speed. The speed (magnitude of velocity) is still 20 m/s.

6. Negative acceleration is a small acceleration.

 Why this is wrong: Like velocity, acceleration is a vector quantity,


which means it has both magnitude and direction. Negative acceleration
simply indicates that the acceleration is in the direction opposite to what is
defined as positive. It doesn't imply that the acceleration is "small."

o Key Point: A large negative acceleration can represent a strong


deceleration (slowing down) or rapid change in velocity in the
negative direction. The term deceleration is often used to describe
acceleration that reduces the speed of an object, but even
deceleration can be large in magnitude.

o Example 1 (large negative acceleration): A car traveling at 30


m/s that slams on the brakes may experience a negative
acceleration of -8 m/s². This indicates a rapid decrease in velocity,
but the magnitude of acceleration (8 m/s²) is large.

o Example 2: A spacecraft accelerating toward Earth might have a


negative acceleration due to the direction of motion, but it could
be accelerating rapidly.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy