what is the significance of seconds squared [s^2]?

Question

Time moves at one constant. How can you have it raised to an exponent? If you have say: 3 seconds^2, is it actually 9 seconds?

In: 5

Answer 1

It’s significant in things like acceleration. But thinking of it as “seconds squared” kind of obfuscates what is really going on. Acceleration isn’t as much a “distance per seconds squared” as it is “velocity per seconds” and velocity itself is “distance per seconds.”

For example, your acceleration might be 9.8 feet/second^(2). What that means is, for every second that passes, your velocity increases by 9.8 feet/second.