Question

Can an object have zero acceleration and non-zero velocity at the same time? Give examples.

Short answer

Yes, an object can have zero velocity and still be accelerating.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Definitions of velocity and acceleration

Velocity is a vector quantity and is defined as the rate of change of displacement of an object with time. On the other hand, acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity.

Step 2. Determination of velocity for zero acceleration

The acceleration is $a=\frac{dv}{dt}$.

For zero acceleration, $0=\frac{dv}{dt}$.

This implies that the velocity is constant. Now, this constant value can take up any value, such as $5\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$or $7\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{h}$.

For example, a car is under straight-line uniform motion, moving with a non-zero constant velocity of $80\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{h}$. In this case, the acceleration is zero as there is no change in velocity.