Metre per second squared facts for kids
A metre per second squared (written as m/s2) is a special unit of measurement used to describe acceleration. Acceleration tells us how much an object's speed changes over time.
If an object is accelerating at 1 m/s2, it means its speed is getting faster by 1 m/s every single second. Imagine a car starting from a stop: if it accelerates at 1 m/s2, after one second it will be going 1 m/s, after two seconds it will be going 2 m/s, and so on.
Contents
What is Acceleration?
Acceleration is not just about getting faster; it's also about getting slower (which we call deceleration or negative acceleration) or changing direction. It's a key idea in physics that helps us understand how things move.
How Speed Changes
When something accelerates, its speed doesn't stay the same. It either increases or decreases. For example, when you step on the gas pedal in a car, the car accelerates, and its speed goes up. When you press the brake, the car decelerates, and its speed goes down.
Changing Direction
Even if an object's speed stays the same, it can still be accelerating if it changes direction. Think about a car going around a curve at a constant speed. Its direction is constantly changing, so it is accelerating.
Understanding Metre Per Second Squared
The unit m/s2 helps us measure exactly how much an object's speed changes each second. It combines two important measurements: distance (metres) and time (seconds).
Breaking Down the Unit
- Metre (m): This is the unit for distance. It tells us how far something travels.
- Per second (/s): This means "for every second."
- Squared (2): This means "per second, per second." It shows that we are looking at how the speed (which is already distance per second) changes over another second.
So, m/s2 literally means "metres per second, per second." It describes how many metres per second the speed changes, every second.
Examples of Acceleration
- Falling Objects: When you drop something, it falls faster and faster because of gravity. Near the Earth's surface, gravity causes objects to accelerate at about 9.8 m/s2 (ignoring air resistance). This means their speed increases by 9.8 metres per second, every second they fall.
- Cars and Bikes: When a car speeds up from a stop, it's accelerating. A powerful sports car can have a very high acceleration, meaning it reaches high speeds very quickly. A bicycle might have a lower acceleration, taking more time to speed up.
Why is Acceleration Important?
Understanding acceleration is important in many areas, from designing safe cars to launching rockets into space. Engineers and scientists use these measurements to predict how things will move and to build machines that work correctly.
Everyday Life
You experience acceleration every day!
- When you ride a roller coaster, you feel the strong acceleration as it speeds up, slows down, and goes around loops.
- When you're in an elevator, you feel a push when it starts moving up (accelerating) and a pull when it slows down at the top (decelerating).
See also
- Speed
- Velocity
- Gravity
- Metro por segundo al cuadrado para niños (in Spanish)
