Answer #1

In science, there are terms to be defined to differentiate them from one another. Some of these terms may even mean the same but with proper definition, the concepts may have distinct meaning.

Acceleration and speed may refer to rate or pace but when we get the exact meaning of each, they are of different use. Speed refers to how fast a person or thing is going in a particular period. Acceleration is defined as the process of changing the speed.
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Speed is usually interpreted by the distance traveled and time. Its formula is distance divided time. So a car can have a speed of 40 miles/hour.

Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity of a thing or object changes in a period of time. Its formula is acceleration = change in velocity/time taken for change. To get the acceleration, it’s important to get first the velocity.

An acceleration can be computed if there is a change in speed and direction while speed can be computed if there is distance and time given. Speed is a scalar quantity which means it does not have any direction. It there is a direction then the speed becomes now a velocity. Acceleration needs velocity which again refers to the direction. To understand the concepts, here are the examples.

Car A is moving in a circle. Form one point to another, the distance it can travel is 1 km. It can move around the circle for 3 minutes. In this example, the speed can be computed because there is time and distance given. However, acceleration is difficult to find out since there is no exact direction whether it is going clockwise or counterclockwise. An object only accelerates if there is pressure applied. When a car does not move, then there is no acceleration. But then, it is still possible to get the acceleration as long as we know where the car is going (direction).

Answered By: shiela [67 ]