Enter the horizontal component of acceleration and the vertical component of acceleration into the calculator to determine the Angle of Acceleration. 

Angle of Acceleration Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Angle of Acceleration.

a = ATAN(Ay/Ax)
  • Where a is the Angle of Acceleration (degrees)
  • Ax is the horizontal component of acceleration (m/s^2)
  • Ay is the vertical component of acceleration (m/s^2)

To calculate the angle of acceleration, take the inverse tangent of the vertical acceleration over the horizontal acceleration.

What are the units for Angle of Acceleration?

The most common units for Angle of Acceleration are degrees.

How to Calculate Angle of Acceleration?

Example Problem:

The following example problem outlines the steps and information required to calculate the Angle of Acceleration.

First, determine the horizontal component of acceleration. In this example, the horizontal component of acceleration is measured to be 40 (m/s^2).

Next, determine the vertical component of acceleration. For this problem, the vertical component of acceleration is calculated to be 20 (m/s^2).

Finally, calculate the Angle of Acceleration using the formula above: 

a = ATAN(Ay/Ax)

Inserting the values from above and solving the equation gives us: 

a = ATAN(20/40) = 26.56 (degrees)