Physics A-Level
Gradient
What Gradient means in Physics A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Gradient
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Reference: AQA
The rate of change of the vertical quantity with respect to the horizontal quantity, found by drawing a tangent and dividing the vertical change by the horizontal change.
On a displacement–time graph it gives velocity, and on a velocity–time graph it gives acceleration.
Topics that use Gradient
- Capacitor charge and discharge (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Motion along a straight line (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Area under a graph
- Acceleration
- Area under a graph as a product
- Capacitor charging and discharging
- Determining the time constant from a graph
- Displacement
- Effect of larger R or C
- Experimental design and evaluation
Using Gradient in the exam
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