Why is acceleration a vector quantity.

Nicholas Huynh

Nicholas Huynh

Answered question

2023-03-09

Why is acceleration a vector quantity.

Answer & Explanation

angel52594672ve

angel52594672ve

Beginner2023-03-10Added 3 answers

Since acceleration has both a magnitude and a direction, it is a vector quantity.
When an object experiences positive acceleration, the acceleration moves the object in the same direction. An item accelerates in the opposite direction from the direction that it is moving when it experiences negative acceleration (slowing down).
Imagine a ball being tossed into the air. The ball is moving downward at a constant speed of g = 9.8 m/s due to gravity. The ball slows down when it is moving upward because of the opposite-direction acceleration. Even after the ball slows to a velocity of 0 m/s, gravity continues to affect it.
The ball then starts to fall since gravity is still at work on it, but now that the motion and acceleration are pointing in the same direction, the ball is moving faster.

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