How does the unit used to measure acceleration actually work?

Question

The unit to measure speed is m/s which in a straightforward manner implies that x metres is covered per second however the unit for acceleration is m/s^2 which is kind of making it difficult to understand how it works..

I had this thought in the middle of a physics test and have been pondering ever since. Would be great if someone could eli5.

In: Physics

Answer 1

How many m/s you gain each second?

For acceleration of ‘a’, you would gain ‘a’ m/s each second you move at acceleration ‘a’.