Of course, the actual acceleration depends on the loading of the log. If it plows into the water because the weight is up front, it will slow down more quickly. This should be fairly close to that value determined earlier. As long as the students know how to use a stopwatch correctly, the first method should probably give a more accurate result than the hanging weight. The greatest accelerations probably include such things as killer whales breaching and landing on their sides, and dolphins speeding up to make their highest leaps.
Large splashes indicate major accelerations as do speed which are achieved quickly.
The bottoms of the hills and turns on the roller coaster also are great accelerations, and this is noted by now heavy the passengers feel. This killer whale must produce a tremendous force to accelerate its massive body. When any of the animals turns a corner or changes direction, that is an acceleration. Although these types of accelerations are plentiful, they are probably not as large as those accelerations of speeding up or slowing down. The Great White coaster and Texas Splashdown, however, have great accelerations due to changes in direction.