Acceleration Calculator

Find acceleration as change in velocity per time.

How it is calculated

Average acceleration is the change in velocity divided by the time it took: a = (vf − vi) / t. Enter initial speed vi and final speed vf in metres per second and time t in seconds; the answer is in m/s², rounded to two decimals. Time must be above zero. A negative result means the object is slowing down (deceleration). The tool gives the average over the interval, so it cannot show how acceleration varied inside it.

Worked example

A car goes from standstill (0 m/s) to 27.8 m/s, about 100 km/h, in 6.5 s. The speed change is 27.8 − 0 = 27.8 m/s. Divide by the time: 27.8 / 6.5 = 4.277. The average acceleration is 4.28 m/s², roughly 0.44 times the pull of gravity.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering speeds in km/h or mph while the result is read as m/s². Divide km/h by 3.6 first.
  • Swapping initial and final speed, which flips the sign.
  • Entering minutes or milliseconds as seconds.
  • Treating the answer as constant: it is only the average over the time given.
  • Entering the total distance instead of speeds; distance needs a different formula.

About this calculator

This calculator applies the basic kinematics formula a = Δv/Δt — the change in velocity divided by the time it took — with velocities in m/s and time in seconds, and reports the result in m/s².

It's used by physics students solving motion problems, car enthusiasts comparing 0-60 mph times across vehicles, and engineers checking that acceleration or deceleration stays within comfortable g-force limits when designing elevators, roller coasters, or braking systems.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Speeds must be given in metres per second, so a road speed in km/h has to be divided by 3.6 first: 100 km/h is about 27.8 m/s. The answer is an average over the whole interval and says nothing about how the speed changed in between. If the final speed is lower than the starting one, the result is negative, which is simply braking. Are you checking a braking distance, a lap time or a school exercise?

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