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How to Use Acceleration to Find Initial Velocity

Acceleration measures the rate of increase of the velocity of an object. Acceleration is measured in distance per time squared, for example, feet per second squared or miles per hour squared. Knowing the acceleration and the time for which the acceleration occurs, allows you to find the increase in the velocity of the object. When you know the final velocity and the increase in velocity, you can find the initial velocity.

Stopwatch
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Use a stopwatch to measure the time the object accelerates in seconds.
- 2
  Multiply the rate of acceleration by the time the object accelerated to find the increase in velocity due to the acceleration. For example, if the object accelerated at 11 feet per second square for 4 seconds, multiply 4 by 11 to get 44 feet per second.
- 3
  Subtract the increase in velocity due to the acceleration from the final velocity to find the initial velocity. In this example, if the object's final velocity equals 60 feet per second, subtract 44 feet per second from 60 feet per second to get an initial velocity of 16 feet per second.

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