Acceleration
The Acceleration Concept Builder is comprised of a bank of 60 questions that are delivered to the learner across three different activities. Each of the three activities has a slightly different emphasis. The first activity -
To Acclerate or Not To Accelerate - challenges learners to use the acceleration concept to determine when an object accelerates or doesn't accelerate. The second activity -
Getting Direction on Acceleration - assesses the learner's ability to determine the direction of the acceleration from information about its direction of motion and whether it is speeding up or slowing down. The third activity -
Adding Value to Acceleration - challenges students to calculate the numerical value of acceleration from simple numerical data. Questions are grouped with questions in the same group rbeing very similar. If a learner misses a question within Question Group 1, then another question within the same group will be presented to the learner at a later time.
The three activities in this Concept Builder are summarized as follows:
- To Acclerate or Not To Accelerate: Question Groups 1-6
- Getting Direction on Acceleration: Question Groups 7-14
- Adding Value to Acceleration: Question Groups 15-20
The questions and images used in this Concept Builder are shown below. Teachers are encouraged to view the questions in order to judge which activity is most appropriate for their classes.
The Physics Classroom grants teachers and other users the right to print these questions for private use. Users are also granted the right to copy the text and modify it for their own use. However, this document should not be uploaded to other servers for distribution to and/or display by others. The Physics Classroom website should remain the only website or server from which this document is distributed or displayed. We also provide a PDF that teachers can use under the same conditions. We have included a link to the PDF near the bottom of this page.
Activity 1: To Accelerate or Not To Accelerate
Question Group 1
Question #1
A rightward-moving bicycle increases its speed from 2.0 m/s to 12.0 m/s. Is the bicycle accelerating?
Question #2
A rightward-moving motorcycle increases its speed from 5.0 m/s to 25.0 m/s. Is the motorcycle accelerating?
Question #3
A rightward-moving car increases its speed from 10.0 m/s to 20.0 m/s. Is the car accelerating?
Question Group 2
Question #4
A rightward-moving bicycle slows down from 12.0 m/s to 2.0 m/s. Is the bicycle accelerating?
Question #5
A rightward-moving motorcycle slows down from 25.0 m/s to 5.0 m/s. Is the motorcycle accelerating?
Question #6
A rightward-moving car slows down from 20.0 m/s to 10.0 m/s. Is the car accelerating?
Question Group 3
Question #7
The dot diagram represents the motion of a bicycle as it moves from left to right. Is the bicycle accelerating?
Question #8
The dot diagram represents the motion of a motorcycle as it moves from left to right. Is the motorcycle accelerating?
Question #9
The dot diagram represents the motion of a car as it moves from left to right. Is the car accelerating?
Question Group 4
Question #10
The dot diagram represents the motion of a bicycle as it moves from left to right. Is the bicycle accelerating?
Question #11
The dot diagram represents the motion of a motorcycle as it moves from left to right. Is the motorcycle accelerating?
Question #12
The dot diagram represents the motion of a car as it moves from left to right.
Is the car accelerating?
Question Group 5
Question #13
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a bicycle as it moves from left to right. Is the bicycle accelerating?
Question #14
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a motorcycle as it moves from left to right. Is the motorcycle accelerating?
Question #15
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a car as it moves from left to right. Is the car accelerating?
Question Group 6
Question #16
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a bicycle as it moves from left to right. Is the bicycle accelerating?
Question #17
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a motorcycle as it moves from left to right. Is the motorcycle accelerating?
Question #18
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a car as it moves from left to right. Is the car accelerating?
Activity 2: Getting Direction on Acceleration
Question Group 7:
Question #19
A rightward-moving bicycle is speeding up. What is the direction of the bicycle's acceleration?
Question #20
A rightward-moving motorcycle is speeding up. What is the direction of the motorcycle's acceleration?
Question #21
A rightward-moving car is speeding up. What is the direction of the car's acceleration?
Question Group 8:
Question #22
A rightward-moving bicycle is slowing down. What is the direction of the bicycle's acceleration?
Question #23
A rightward-moving motorcycle is slowing down. What is the direction of the motorcycle's acceleration?
Question #24
A rightward-moving car is slowing down. What is the direction of the car's acceleration?
Question Group 9:
Question #25
A downward falling skydiver is speeding up. What is the direction of the skydiver's acceleration?
Question #26
A downward falling baseball is speeding up. What is the direction of the baseball's acceleration?
Question #27
A downward moving elevator is speeding up. What is the direction of the elevator's acceleration?
Question Group 10:
Question #28
A downward falling skydiver is slowing down. What is the direction of the skydiver's acceleration?
Question #29
A downward moving roller coaster is slowing down. What is the direction of the coaster's acceleration?
Question #30
A downward moving elevator is slowing down. What is the direction of the elevator's acceleration?
Question Group 11:
Question #31
A northward-moving race car is slowing down. What is the direction of the race car's acceleration?
Question #32
A northward-moving sprinter is slowing down. What is the direction of the sprinter's acceleration?
Question #33
A northward-moving truck is slowing down. What is the direction of the truck's acceleration?
Question Group 12:
Question #34
The dot diagram represents the motion of a rightward-moving race car. What is the direction of the race car's acceleration?
Question #35
The dot diagram represents the motion of a rightward-moving sprinter. What is the direction of the sprinter's acceleration?
Question #36
The dot diagram represents the motion of a rightward-moving truck. What is the direction of the truck's acceleration?
Question Group 13:
Question #37
The dot diagram represents the motion of a rightward-moving race car. What is the direction of the race car's acceleration?
Question #38
The dot diagram represents the motion of a rightward-moving sprinter. What is the direction of the sprinter's acceleration?
Question #39
The dot diagram represents the motion of a rightward-moving truck. What is the direction of the truck's acceleration?
Question Group 14:
Question #40
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a bicycle. What is the direction of the bicycle's acceleration?
Question #41
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a motorcycle. What is the direction of the motorcycle's acceleration?
Question #42
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a car. What is the direction of the car's acceleration?
Activity 3: Adding Value to Acceleration
Question Group 15:
Question #43
A westward-moving bicycle increases its speed from 2.0 m/s to 12.0 m/s in 4.0 seconds. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #44
A westward-moving motorcycle increases its speed from 5.0 m/s to 25.0 m/s in 2.5 seconds. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #45
A westward-moving car increases its speed from 10.0 m/s to 20.0 m/s ini 2.0 seconds. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question Group 16:
Question #46
A westward-moving bicycle slows down from 10.0 m/s to 4.0 m/s in 3.0 seconds. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #47
A westward-moving motorcycle slows down from 24.0 m/s to 12.0 m/s in 3.0 seconds. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #48
A westward-moving car slows down from 26.0 m/s to 10.0 m/s in 2.0 seconds. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question Group 17:
Question #49
Velocity and time information for a rightward-moving car are shown.
What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #50
Velocity and time information for a rightward-moving car are shown.
What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #51
Velocity and time information for a rightward-moving car are shown.
What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question Group 18:
Question #52
Velocity and time information for a leftward-moving car are shown. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #53
Velocity and time information for a leftward-moving car are shown. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #54
Velocity and time information for a leftward-moving car are shown. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question Group 19:
Question #55
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a leftward-moving car. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #56
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a leftward-moving car. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #57
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a leftward-moving car. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question Group 20:
Question #58
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a rightward-moving motorcycle. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #59
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a rightward-moving motorcycle. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?
Question #60
The velocity-time table represents the motion of a rightward-moving motorcycle. What is the magnitude (i.e., value) and direction of the acceleration?