Enter the total acceleration and the angle of the acceleration vector into the calculator to determine the Vertical Acceleration. 

Vertical Acceleration Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Vertical Acceleration.

Ay = At * SIN ( a) 
  • Where Ay is the Vertical Acceleration (m/s^2)
  • At is the total acceleration (m/s^2)
  • a is the angle of the acceleration vector (degrees)

To calculate the vertical acceleration, multiply the total acceleration by the sin of the angle of acceleration.

What are the units for Vertical Acceleration?

In the International System of Units, also known as SI units, the units for Vertical Acceleration are m/s^2.

How to Calculate Vertical Acceleration?

Example Problem:

The following example problem outlines the steps and information needed to calculate the Vertical Acceleration.

First, determine the total acceleration. In this example, the total acceleration is calculated or measured to be 100 (m/s^2).

Next, determine the angle of the acceleration vector. For this problem, the angle of the acceleration vector is determined to be 20 (degrees).

Finally, calculate the Vertical Acceleration using the formula above: 

Ay = At * SIN ( a) 

Inserting the values from above and solving the equation with the imputed values gives: 

Ay = 100* SIN ( 20deg)  = 34.202 (m/s^2)