Question

Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of _____

Answer 1

Learn different terms related to motion – acceleration, velocity, displacement. From the definition of the acceleration filled in the blank given.When a body moves with non uniform acceleration the rate of change of velocity is also non uniform that means it can change in any way. The velocity –time curve is not a straight line.

Complete answer:
Newton’s law of motion states that the net force applied to a body is mass times the acceleration of the body. Now, acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity with respect to time is called the acceleration. So, acceleration is nothing but at which rate velocity changes of a body or a particle.

The mathematical expression of acceleration is given by,
$\vec a = \dfrac{{\vec v}}{t}$
where $\vec a$ is the acceleration of the body, $\vec v$ is the velocity of the body and $t$ is the time.
The instantaneous acceleration of a body is given by,
$\vec a = \dfrac{{d\vec v}}{{dt}}$
where, $d\vec v$ is the change in velocity when the change in time tends to zero, $\mathop {dt = \lim }\limits_{\Delta t \to 0} \Delta t$.
The acceleration and the velocity of a particle all are vector quantities; all depends on the direction of motion.

So, Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity with respect to time.

Note: The tangent of velocity –time curve represents the acceleration of a body.When a body moves with constant acceleration the rate of change of velocity is also linear that means it increases gradually in a straight line. When a body is moving with a uniform velocity that means the acceleration of the body is zero.