Final answer:
The average acceleration of an object like a fan cart during a pulse is calculated as the change in velocity during a time interval. This is determined from the Velocity vs. Time graph by finding the slope between two points on the graph, which represents the change in velocity over the time interval.
Step-by-step explanation:
The expression for average acceleration of an object, such as a fan cart during a pulse, is given by the change in velocity over the change in time, which can be mathematically represented as a = (∆v)/(∆t), where ∆v is the change in velocity and ∆t is the time interval over which this change occurs. To calculate the average acceleration from a Velocity vs. Time graph, you need to find the slope of the line connecting two points on the graph, which represents the change in velocity between those two moments in time.
For example, if during a time interval ∆t, the velocity of the fan cart changes from v1 to v2, then the average acceleration a can be calculated as a = (v2 - v1)/∆t. To correctly rank the magnitude of the average acceleration during different sections of the graph, one would look at the slope of the graph during each section. A steeper slope indicates a higher rate of change of velocity, hence a greater acceleration. To estimate average acceleration from instantaneous acceleration, one would need at least two data points, but more data points provide a more accurate estimation.