Which statement says in words what a = Δv/Δt means?
A car pulls away from a traffic light at 3 m/s and accelerates at 2 m/s² for 5 s. How fast is it moving at the end?
The first kinematic equation answers exactly that.
A speedboat passes a buoy at 7 m/s and speeds up steadily, reaching 19 m/s 4 s later. In v = v₀ + at, which of the boat's numbers plays the part of v₀?
The car's acceleration is 2 m/s²: each second adds 2 m/s to its velocity.
After t seconds the gain is a × t. That is the equation a = Δv/Δt you've already seen, rearranged.
The whole gain is (2 m/s²) × (5 s) = 10 m/s. 3 m/s to start, 10 m/s gained: 13 m/s.
The gain a × t carries m/s² × s → m/s: a velocity, so it can add to the starting velocity.
In v = v₀ + at, which unit does the product at carry, and why does that let it add to v₀?
Displacement never appears in this equation. It ties together the two velocities, the acceleration, and the time — nothing else.
Your turn
A problem gives an object's starting velocity, its constant acceleration, and the time it accelerates. Which pairing about v = v₀ + at is correct?
In v = v₀ + at, what is the difference between v and v₀?
In v = v₀ + at, what does the product at tell you?