General question about accleration of box on inclined plane

[hager]

Homework Statement

Is it possible for a box going down on a frictionless incline plane to have not a negative accleration but positive accleration? Please help, it is confusing.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

 

[berkeman]

Homework Statement

Is it possible for a box going down on a frictionless incline plane to have not a negative accleration but positive accleration? Please help, it is confusing.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

Acceleration is a vector quantity. So the sign of the vector depends on how you choose your coordinate system. If an object is free-falling at the surface of the Earth, then the acceleration due to gravity "g" is positive if the Z axis points down, and negative if it points up. As long as you keep your coordinate system consistent, you could choose either way.

 

[baba89]

Yes, it is possible for a box going down on a frictionless inclined plane to have a positive acceleration. This is because acceleration is a vector quantity that takes into account both magnitude and direction. In this case, the direction of the acceleration would be in the same direction as the box's motion down the inclined plane. This means that the box is still accelerating, but in a positive direction. It is important to note that the acceleration is still due to the force of gravity acting on the box, but the direction of the acceleration is determined by the angle of the incline. This may seem confusing, but it is important to understand that positive and negative acceleration are simply descriptions of the direction of the acceleration, not the magnitude. I hope this helps clarify the concept for you.