Calculus 1 : Acceleration

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #211 : Acceleration

The position of a particle is given by the function . What is the acceleration of the particle at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Acceleration of a particle can be found by taking the derivative of the velocity function with respect to time. Recall that a derivative gives the rate of change of some parameter, relative to the change of some other variable. When we take the derivative of velocity with respect to time, we are evaluating how velocity changes over time; i.e acceleration! This is just like finding velocity by taking the derivative of the position function.

To take the derivative of the function

We'll need to make use of the following derivative rule(s):

Derivative of an exponential: 

Product rule: 

Note that  and  may represent large functions, and not just individual variables!

Using the above properties, the velocity function is

And the acceleration function is

At 

Example Question #212 : Acceleration

The position of a particle is given by the function . What is the particle's acceleration at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Acceleration of a particle can be found by taking the derivative of the velocity function with respect to time. Recall that a derivative gives the rate of change of some parameter, relative to the change of some other variable. When we take the derivative of velocity with respect to time, we are evaluating how velocity changes over time; i.e acceleration! This is just like finding velocity by taking the derivative of the position function.

To take the derivative of the function

We'll need to make use of the following derivative rule(s):

Derivative of an exponential: 

Trigonometric derivative: 

Product rule: 

Note that  and  may represent large functions, and not just individual variables!

Using the above properties, the velocity function is

And the acceleration function is

At 

Example Question #213 : Acceleration

The velocity of a particle is given by the function . What is the acceleration of the particle at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Acceleration of a particle can be found by taking the derivative of the velocity function with respect to time. Recall that a derivative gives the rate of change of some parameter, relative to the change of some other variable. When we take the derivative of velocity with respect to time, we are evaluating how velocity changes over time; i.e acceleration! This is just like finding velocity by taking the derivative of the position function.

To take the derivative of the function

We'll need to make use of the following derivative rule(s):

Derivative of an exponential: 

Trigonometric derivative: 

Note that  may represent large functions, and not just individual variables!

Using the above properties, the acceleration function is

At 

Example Question #601 : Spatial Calculus

The velocity of a particle is given by the function . What is the particle's accleration at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Acceleration of a particle can be found by taking the derivative of the velocity function with respect to time. Recall that a derivative gives the rate of change of some parameter, relative to the change of some other variable. When we take the derivative of velocity with respect to time, we are evaluating how velocity changes over time; i.e acceleration! This is just like finding velocity by taking the derivative of the position function.

To take the derivative of the function

We'll need to make use of the following derivative rule(s):

Derivative of an exponential: 

Note that  may represent large functions, and not just individual variables!

Using the above properties, the acceleration function is

At time 

Example Question #215 : Acceleration

The position of a particle is given by the function . What is the particle's acceleration at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Acceleration of a particle can be found by taking the derivative of the velocity function with respect to time. Recall that a derivative gives the rate of change of some parameter, relative to the change of some other variable. When we take the derivative of velocity with respect to time, we are evaluating how velocity changes over time; i.e acceleration! This is just like finding velocity by taking the derivative of the position function.

To take the derivative of the function

We'll need to make use of the following derivative rule(s):

Derivative of an exponential: 

Product rule: 

Note that  and  may represent large functions, and not just individual variables!

Using the above properties, the velocity function is

And the acceleration function is

At time 

Example Question #216 : Acceleration

The velocity of a particle is given by the function  What is the particle's velocity at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Acceleration of a particle can be found by taking the derivative of the velocity function with respect to time. Recall that a derivative gives the rate of change of some parameter, relative to the change of some other variable. When we take the derivative of velocity with respect to time, we are evaluating how velocity changes over time; i.e acceleration! This is just like finding velocity by taking the derivative of the position function.

To take the derivative of the function

 it may help to rewrite it as 

We'll need to make use of the following derivative rule(s):

Derivative of an exponential: 

Note that  may represent large functions, and not just individual variables!

Using the above properties, the acceleration function is

At time 

Example Question #217 : Acceleration

A toy car is thrown straight upward into the air.  The equation of the position of the object is:

What is the instantaneous acceleration of the toy car at any time? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the velocity of the toy car, we take the derivative of the position equation. The velocity equation is

Then to find the acceleration of the toy car, we take the derivative again.  The acceleration equation is 

Example Question #602 : Spatial Calculus

A Spaceship is traveling through the galaxy.  The distance traveled by the spaceship over a certain amount of time can be calculated by the equation

where  is the distance traveled in meters and  is time in .

What is the instantaneous acceleration of the spaceship at 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can find the acceleration of the spaceship over a time frame by taking the derivative of the velocity equation or by taking the derivative of the position equation twice.  

 

The derivative of the position equation is:

 

The derivative of the velocity equation is:

The question asked what is the instantaneous acceleration of the spaceship at the  mark. When we insert  into the acceleration equation, we get .  

Example Question #211 : Acceleration

A ball was launched across the Mississippi river.  The position of the ball as it is traveling across the river is 

  (where  is in  and  is in )

What is the instantaneous acceleration of the rock at  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the velocity of the rock, we take the derivative of the position equation.  The velocity equation is

From the velocity equation, we take the derivative again to find the acceleration. The acceleration equation is 

 

From the acceleraton equation, we insert   to find the instantaneous acceleration.  

 

Example Question #211 : How To Find Acceleration

A driver is speeding through the interstate.  The distance traveled by the driver over a certain amount of time can be calculated by the equation

where  is the distance traveled in  and  is time in .

What is the equation for the acceleration of the driver? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the velocity of the driver, we take the derivative of the position equation. The velocity equation is

Then to find the acceleration of the toy car, we take the derivative again.  The acceleration equation is 

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