Four students were studying acceleration in Science class. Each student wrote down a statement about acceleration. The students statements are below. Student 1 When the velocity of an object changes, the object is accelerating.
Student 2 Acceleration occurs when velocity stays the same.
Student 3 If you were on a merry go round, and you were going a constant speed, you would still be accelerating.
Student 4 Brakes on a car cause a change in a car's velocity by slowing it down. This is an example of acceleration.
Which of the student's statements are correct?
Group of answer choices
1, 2, 3, and 4
1
1 and 2
1, 3 and 4
1,3,4
The correct statement among the students' statements is: 1. "When the velocity of an object changes, the object is accelerating."
To determine the correct statement, we need to understand the concept of acceleration. Acceleration is the rate at which an object's velocity changes over time. Velocity is a measure of both the speed and direction of an object.
Statement 1 correctly states that when the velocity of an object changes, the object is accelerating. This is because a change in velocity indicates a change in either speed, direction, or both, which is the definition of acceleration.
Statement 2, "Acceleration occurs when velocity stays the same," is incorrect. Acceleration does not occur when velocity stays the same. In fact, when an object's velocity remains constant, there is no acceleration.
Statement 3, "If you were on a merry go round, and you were going at a constant speed, you would still be accelerating," is incorrect. If you are on a merry-go-round and moving at a constant speed (which means constant velocity since there is no change in direction), there is no acceleration because the velocity is not changing.
Statement 4, "Brakes on a car cause a change in a car's velocity by slowing it down. This is an example of acceleration," is correct. When brakes are applied to a car, and the car slows down, its velocity is changing, which indicates acceleration.
Therefore, the correct statement is 1.