Sports Biomechanics

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Acceleration

Gravity

Acceleration of an implement, while in flight, is always -9.8 meters/second squared; the act of gravity on the implement. Gravity is always acting vertically; there is no horizontal deceleration in the absence of aerodynamic forces. Acceleration is the same regardless of the weight of the implement. Therefore, the vertical velocity of a projectile decreases by 9.8 m/s every second.

Calculating and Measuring Acceleration

Acceleration (a) is defined by the following formula, where dv=change in velocity and dt=change in time.

a=dv/dt

The change velocity is the difference between the current value and the last value of the velocity, or, the change in velocity is equal to the final velocity minus the initial velocity (dv=vf-vi).

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