Room for ChanceWhat it measures and where it is used
Acceleration measures how quickly velocity changes. Its SI unit is m/s². The symbol g₀ refers to conventional standard gravity, exactly 9.80665 m/s², historically useful for comparing accelerations. It is not the gram and is not the exact local gravity everywhere.
- Classification
- SI derived quantity
- SI unit
- m/s²
- Dimension
- L T⁻²
L: length; M: mass; T: time; Θ: temperature; N: amount of substance. The dimension symbol N is not the unit symbol for newton.
How it works
The calculation first converts to a common reference unit, then to the destination unit. Factors in the table show the reference value for one unit.
Example
1 g₀ (standard gravity) ≈ 9.80665 m/s² (metres per second squared)
Available units
Reference unit: m/s² (metres per second squared)
| Available units | Reference factor |
|---|---|
| m/s² (metres per second squared) | 1 × x |
| cm/s² (centimetres per second squared) | 0.01 × x |
| ft/s² (feet per second squared) | 0.3048 × x |
| g₀ (standard gravity) | 9.80665 × x |
Units, history and conventions
The International System of Units (SI) received its name in 1960. Since the 2019 revision, its definitions use fixed values of seven defining constants. SI base and derived quantities should not be confused with the different units used to express them.