A car is moving with velocity in a certain direction and accelerates in the same direction. What is true about the relation between velocity and acceleration?

A car is moving with velocity in a certain direction and accelerates in the same direction. What is true about the relation between velocity and acceleration?

• A. Acceleration opposite velocity
• B. Acceleration in same direction
• C. They are perpendicular
• D. Acceleration zero

Answer: (B)

Velocity tells you how fast and in what direction the car’s position is changing, while acceleration tells you how that velocity is changing. When the car is moving in a direction and speeding up in that same direction, the rate of change of velocity points along the same path as the motion. In other words, the acceleration vector is aligned with the velocity vector, and the speed increases over time. If the car were slowing down while moving forward, the acceleration would point opposite to the velocity. If it’s turning with constant speed, the acceleration points toward the center of the turn (perpendicular to velocity). If there’s no change in velocity, the acceleration is zero.

Velocity tells you how fast and in what direction the car’s position is changing, while acceleration tells you how that velocity is changing. When the car is moving in a direction and speeding up in that same direction, the rate of change of velocity points along the same path as the motion. In other words, the acceleration vector is aligned with the velocity vector, and the speed increases over time. If the car were slowing down while moving forward, the acceleration would point opposite to the velocity. If it’s turning with constant speed, the acceleration points toward the center of the turn (perpendicular to velocity). If there’s no change in velocity, the acceleration is zero.