Plus and minus signs are used in one-dimensional motion to indicate direction. What is the sign of an acceleration that reduces the magnitude of a negative velocity? Of a positive velocity?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Positive (+) is the sign of an acceleration that lowers the amount of a negative velocity.Negative is the sign of an acceleration that decreases the amount of a positive velocity ( - ).

Step by step solution

01

Acceleration of an object

Acceleration of an object is the change in the velocity of the body to that of the time taken to do that change.

The unit of acceleration will be m/s2

The rate of change in the velocity of an item per unit of time is called acceleration.

The direction of the item is indicated by its negative velocity, which indicates that it is moving backward, and its positive velocity shows that it is moving ahead.

02

Acceleration that reduces the magnitude of the velocity

The sign of an acceleration that diminishes the magnitude of a negative velocity-A negative velocity is an item that moves in the opposite direction. The rearward direction is known as the negative direction.

The object's acceleration is decreasing while its velocity is decreasing.

As a result, in this scenario, the sign of the acceleration should be positive.

The sign of an acceleration that lowers the magnitude of a positive velocity-A positive velocity is an item that travels in a positive direction.

The advancing direction is the positive direction.

The object's acceleration is decreasing, but its velocity is increasing.

As a result, for diminishing acceleration with positive velocity, the sign of the acceleration should be negative.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Find the following for path C in Figure 2.59:

(a) The distance travelled.

(b) The magnitude of the displacement from start to finish.

(c) The displacement from start to finish.

A coin is dropped from a hot-air balloon that is 300m above the ground and rising at 10.00 m/s upward. For the coin, find (a) the maximum height reached, (b) its position and velocity 4.00 s after being released, and (c) the time before it hits the ground.

A helicopter blade spins at exactly 100 revolutions per minute. Its tip is5.00mfrom the centre of rotation.

(a) Calculate the average speed of the blade tip in the helicopter’s frame of reference.

(b) What is its average velocity over one revolution?

A football quarterback runs 15.0 m straight down the playing field in 2.50 s. He is then hit and pushed 3.00 m straight backward in 1.75 s. He breaks the tackle and runs straight forward another 21.0 m in 5.20 s. Calculate his average velocity (a) for each of the three intervals and (b) for the entire motion.

A woodpecker’s brain is specially protected from large decelerations by tendon-like attachments inside the skull. While pecking on a tree, the woodpecker’s head comes to a stop from an initial velocity of 0.600 m/sin a distance of only 2.99 mm.

(a) Find the acceleration in m/s2 and in multiples of (g = 9.80 m/s2).

(b) Calculate the stopping time.

(c) The tendons cradling the brain stretch, making its stopping distance 4.50(greater than the head and, hence, less deceleration of the brain). What is the brain’s deceleration, expressed in multiples of g?

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free