Question

What is the difference between radial acceleration and tangential acceleration and how do you calculate both of these accelerations?

Answer 1

Tangential acceleration is in the direction of velocity - along the circumference of a circle if the object is undergoing circular motion

a = (V2 - V1) / T

Radial acceleration is perpendicular to the direction of motion if the object is not moving in a straight line (perhaps along the circumference of a circle)

a = m V^2 / R = m ω^2 R where R is the radius vector of the velocity - note that the Radius vector is directed from the center of motion to the object and for circular motion would be constant in magnitude but not in direction