Acceleration Calculator
Find acceleration from a change in velocity over time, plus the distance covered while speeding up.
How it works
a = (v − u) / t · s = u·t + ½·a·t²
Acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes, so it is the change in speed divided by the time it took. A positive value means speeding up and a negative value (deceleration) means slowing down. Once you know the acceleration you can also find how far the object travelled during the change using the constant-acceleration distance formula.
Worked example
A car going from rest (0 m/s) to 20 m/s in 5 s accelerates at (20 − 0) ÷ 5 = 4 m/s², covering 0×5 + ½×4×5² = 50 m in the process.
Sources: Acceleration — Wikipedia
Frequently asked questions
What are the units of acceleration?
Metres per second squared (m/s²) — it measures how many metres per second the velocity changes each second. On Earth, gravity accelerates a free-falling object at about 9.81 m/s².
What does negative acceleration mean?
It means the object is slowing down (decelerating) or accelerating in the opposite direction to the one you called positive. The sign only tells you the direction relative to your chosen reference.
Does this assume constant acceleration?
Yes. The formula gives the average acceleration over the interval, and the distance figure assumes that acceleration stays uniform throughout. Real vehicles rarely accelerate perfectly uniformly.
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Educational estimate. Check the formula and units for your exact case.