I'm relatively new to kinematics and need help understanding this question and the answer: Can anything accelerate while travelling at constant velocity? If so, what is an example and how can it do that?
My understanding was, simply put, that velocity=change in displacement/change in time & acceleration=change in velocity/change in time. Therefore is it possible that velocity could stay constant while the time changes to make different accelerations?

Question

I'm relatively new to kinematics and need help understanding this question and the answer: Can anything accelerate while travelling at constant velocity? If so, what is an example and how can it do that?
My  understanding was, simply put, that velocity=change in displacement/change in time &  acceleration=change in velocity/change in time. Therefore is it possible that velocity could stay constant while the time changes to make different accelerations?

anonymous · Answer

An example of an object accelerating but maintaining constant speed would be a car rounding a corner at constant speed. In such case the direction of motion, and hence the velocity, changes. If the velocity is constant, by assumption it does not change, thus there can be no acceleration in such case.

egenriether · Answer

Acceleration only means that the velocity vector is changing.  Since vectors have magnitude (speed) and direction, either (or both) changing constitutes an acceleration.  So turning in a circle at constant speed is accelerating (that's why you feel "pulled" around in a car as it turns a corner even if the speed doesn't change).  So if your question says traveling at a constant "Velocity" then the answer is no.  But if it says traveling at a constant "Speed" then the answer is yes.