What is Acceleration?Acceleration has two quantities: vector and scalar.
•Scalar acceleration is the rate of change of speed or speeding up and the opposite; deceleration is slowing down •Vector acceleration is the rate of change of velocity and is the change of velocity over the time that this change occurs. As it is vector, it applies, regardless of how the acceleration is built, relative to the initial velocity. Vector acceleration that is in the same direction as the velocity is the same as speeding up in the scalar quantity and vector acceleration that is in the direct opposite direction as the velocity is slowing down, in scalar terms. Acceleration is measured in metres/second squared OR m/s². |
Acceleration in Swimming |
The first form of acceleration seen in an Olympic swimming race is the initial dive off the diving blocks into the pool. The positioning of the diving block gives the swimmer a push off from a crouched position, with they back leg at a 90˚ angle, providing optimum launch power. In Olympic swimming, there are two main forces that cause the swimmer's acceleration in the horizontal direction; the frictional force and force from the starting block on the athlete. A wedged block provides more force on the athlete than a flat one and when the athlete holds the top of the block at the start of the race, they can push off the block with both hands and feet, causing a greater acceleration and they can pull themselves towards the block, causing a greater frictional force from the block on the athlete's legs, once again, increasing acceleration.
In Olympic swimming, acceleration is measured by the formula: Change in velocity/Time over which the change occurred. |