1. Speed and Acceleration By: Ryan Pedrigi Resident Scientist/Mathematician

2. What is speed? A way of describing “how fast” something is moving. More technically, speed is the rate of change of an objects position with respect to time.

3. Calculation of Speed There are a couple of different ways to calculate speed Average speed, S, is simply the change in position, x, divided by the time, t, taken to travel that distance… Maximum Speed = 62 mph

4. Applications of Speed: British Thrust SSC Max Speed = 763 MPH

5. Applications of Speed: Supersonic Flight Max Speed = 1650 MPH (Mach 2.2)

6. Applications of Speed: Sky Diver Terminal Velocity = 200 MPH

7. Sample Problem: Speed A runner runs a 400 meter race in a time of 50 seconds. What is her average speed?

8. What is Acceleration? A way of describing how fast something is speeding up or slowing down. More technically, acceleration is the rate of change of an objects speed with respect to time.

9. Calculation of Acceleration As with speed, there are a couple of different ways to calculate acceleration Average acceleration, a, is simply the time rate of change of speed, S,…

10. Applications of Acceleration: Lamborghini Accel. = 15.38 MPH/sec = 22.56 ft/sec^2 Engine: 6 liter, V12 Horsepower: 550 @ 7100 RPM Maximum Speed: 210 MPH 0-60: 3.9 sec 0-100: 8.8 sec Price: $275,000

11. Applications of Acceleration: Space Shuttle Accel. = 64.87 MPH/sec = 95.14 ft/sec^2 Speed Attained: > 17,500 MPH Time to Low Orbit: 11 min. Time to Space: 45 min.

12. Sample Problem: Acceleration A motorcycle turns the corner of a race track at 85 MPH and then speeds up to 150 MPH on the straightaway. Knowing that it took 5 seconds to change speed, what is the average acceleration?