A vehicle accelerates from rest to 20 m/s in 5 seconds. What is the average acceleration?

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Multiple Choice

A vehicle accelerates from rest to 20 m/s in 5 seconds. What is the average acceleration?

Explanation:
Average acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes: how much velocity changes per unit of time. Here, the velocity goes from 0 to 20 m/s in 5 seconds, so the change in velocity is 20 m/s and the time is 5 s. Dividing gives 20/5 = 4, so the average acceleration is 4 m/s^2. This assumes the acceleration is uniform over the interval; if it weren’t, this would be the average value. For context, reaching 20 m/s in 5 s would correspond to 2 m/s^2 if you took 10 s, 5 m/s^2 if it took 4 s, or 10 m/s^2 if it took 2 s, illustrating how the time interval determines the acceleration.

Average acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes: how much velocity changes per unit of time. Here, the velocity goes from 0 to 20 m/s in 5 seconds, so the change in velocity is 20 m/s and the time is 5 s. Dividing gives 20/5 = 4, so the average acceleration is 4 m/s^2. This assumes the acceleration is uniform over the interval; if it weren’t, this would be the average value. For context, reaching 20 m/s in 5 s would correspond to 2 m/s^2 if you took 10 s, 5 m/s^2 if it took 4 s, or 10 m/s^2 if it took 2 s, illustrating how the time interval determines the acceleration.

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