P9, Topic 9.

2
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

Acceleration

Specification references:
 P5.4.1.5 Acceleration
 M1d, M3b, M3c, M3d

Aims
In this sheet, you will work through two worked examples designed to allow you
to improve your maths skills. The focus is on solving algebraic equations, by
substituting numbers into the equation and rearranging if needed. The algebraic
equation is the formula for calculating acceleration:
Change in velocity (m/s)
Acceleration (m/s2) 
time taken for change (s)

Learning outcomes
After completing this activity, you should be able to:
 calculate the acceleration and deceleration of an object
 substitute numerical values into algebraic equations using appropriate
units
 solve algebraic equations.

Worked examples
1 A ball thrown down from a high window has an initial velocity of 2 m/s, and
after 2 seconds its velocity is 18 m/s. Calculate the acceleration of the ball.
Step 1: Identify what you know and convert to standard units if needed
Initial velocity  2 m/s
Final velocity  18 m/s
Time taken for change in velocity  2 s
Step 2: Substitute the numbers into the equation
Change in velocity
Acceleration 
time taken for change

18 – 2
Acceleration 
2
16
Acceleration 
2
Acceleration  8 m/s2

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 1
 P9, Topic 9.2
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

2 A bird accelerates at 5 m/s2 for 1.5 seconds. The initial velocity of the bird is
4 m/s. Calculate the bird’s final velocity.
Step 1: Identify what you know and convert to standard units if needed
Acceleration  5 m/s2
Initial velocity  4 m/s
Time taken for change in velocity  1.5 s
Step 2: Substitute the numbers into the equation
change in velocity final velocity – initial velocity
Acceleration  time taken for change = time taken for change

final velocity – 4
5
1.5
Step 3: Rearrange the equation to make Final velocity the subject of the equation.
Multiply both sides of the equation by 1.5
final velocity – 4
5  1.5   1.5
1.5
7.5  final velocity − 4
Add 4 to both sides of the equation
11.5 m/s  final velocity

Questions
1 A car accelerates uniformly from 0 to 15 m/s in 5 s. Calculate the acceleration.

(1)

2 A cyclist travels at 5 m/s then accelerates to 10 m/s in 2 seconds. Calculate

the acceleration of the cyclist.

(2)

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 2
 P9, Topic 9.2
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

3 A train travelling at 60 m/s sees an obstacle on the track in the distance. If the
train can decelerate at 1.5 m/s2, calculate the time taken for the train to stop.

(2)

4 A space shuttle has an acceleration of 29 m/s2. The initial velocity is 2 m/s.

Calculate the velocity of the shuttle after 8 seconds.

(3)

5 A cheetah stalking her prey is moving at 1 m/s. She accelerates to a speed of

25 m/s to catch the zebra. Her acceleration is 10 m/s2. Calculate the time taken to
reach her top speed.

(3)

6 A child is bored in the back of the car and starts to time how long the car takes
to pass some 100 m markers on the side of the road. Initially it takes 5 seconds to
pass between them. The car accelerates at 4 m/s2 for 2 seconds.
a Calculate the initial velocity of the car before the acceleration.

(1)

b Calculate the final velocity of the car.

(3)

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 3