Scientific Programming II

ModSim

Unit 1 - Physics Explanation

Acceleration and Velocity

The average acceleration of a body is defined as the ratio of the change in velocity over the time elapsed:

• a⃗_av = Δv⃗/Δt = v⃗_f - v⃗_i/t_f - t_i

Note: Average acceleration is a vector quantity

If we take the direction the object first moves in to be positive (the common convention), then acceleration can be expressed as a scalar:

• a_av = Δv/Δt = v_f - v_i/t_f - t_i

Solving for final velocity, assuming we start at time = 0:

• v_f = v_i + at

Displacement

By assuming that all acceleration that we deal with will be constant (and therefore eliminating the need for calculus), we can express total displacement as follows:

• s = v_it + (1/2)at²