Acceleration
👩 Teacher’s Guide
🎯 Objective
Students will be able to:
- Define acceleration and relate it to changes in velocity
- Calculate acceleration using a = δv ÷ δt
- Interpret positive, negative, and zero acceleration in context
📝 Teaching Notes
- Key idea to emphasize: Acceleration is change in velocity per time.
- Common misconception: Thinking acceleration only means speeding up.
- Suggested teaching approach:
- Use braking car example (negative acceleration).
- Relate to v–t graphs (slope).
- Include direction changes as acceleration.
💬 Discussion Starter
Ask students:
- How can two journeys have the same average speed but different motion?
- Why do units matter as much as the numbers?
- How can graphs tell a story about motion?
🧒 Student Worksheet
Concept and Helping Material
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Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. It can be speeding up, slowing down (negative acceleration), or changing direction, measured in m/s².
Vocabulary and Definitions
- — Rate of change of velocity.
- — Change in velocity.
- — Metres per second squared, SI unit of acceleration.
- — Acceleration opposite to motion (slowing down).
- — Constant acceleration over time.
Hands-On Experiment or Activities
Activity 1: Ramp Acceleration
What You Need: ramp, toy car, marker points, stopwatch or video.
What You Do: Time the car between markers to see it takes less time each section as it speeds up.
Think and Talk: What changed? What stayed the same?
Activity 2: Braking Scenario
What You Need: v–t sketch cards.
What You Do: Sketch velocity decreasing to zero and identify negative acceleration.
Think and Talk: What changed? What stayed the same?
Practice Questions (QA)
- Define acceleration.
- Write the acceleration equation.
- What is the SI unit of acceleration?
- Is slowing down an acceleration?
- A car changes from 0 to 20 m/s in 5 s. Acceleration?
- If acceleration is zero, what does that mean?
- Can turning at constant speed involve acceleration?
- What is uniform acceleration?
- What does negative acceleration indicate in 1D?
- How can you reduce uncertainty when measuring acceleration?
Reflection
- Where do you see this idea in sports, travel, or everyday movement?
- What is one measurement or graph habit that would improve your answers?