Final answer:
The statement that the distance an object travels per unit of time is called acceleration is false. Acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes, not distance per time, which is actually called speed. Also, for an object with constant acceleration, the displacement versus time graph is curved, not straight.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the distance an object travels per unit of time is called acceleration is false. Acceleration is actually the rate at which velocity changes over time. Velocity, on the other hand, is defined as the rate of change of position with time, and when it is constant, we refer to this as speed. Speed is a scalar quantity which means it only has magnitude and not a direction, and the formula for average speed is distance traveled divided by time during which motion occurs.
Additionally, when considering an object moving with constant acceleration, the plot of displacement versus time is indeed a curved line because the velocity is constantly changing. However, when the displacement is plotted against the square of time, the graph will be a straight line if the acceleration is constant. This illustrates that the object in question is indeed accelerating as time progresses.
The position versus time graph for an object that is speeding up is not a straight line but a curve that gets steeper over time, which represents an increasing velocity. If the object's velocity was constant, then the position versus time graph would be a straight line.