Question

Holden is trying to determine the velocity of his race car. He went 20 meters east, turned around, and went 40 meters west. He turned the car one more time and went 35 meters east. His car was 15 meters from the starting line. This took 5 seconds. What is the car’s velocity?

Answer 1

 (15 meters east) / (5 sec) = 3 meters/ sec east

Answer 2

3 m /s

Step-by-step explanation:

Average velocity is defined as the ratio of total displacement to the total time taken. The formula of average velocity is given by

`Average velocity = (Total displacement)/(Total time taken)`

Take east direction is positive and west is negative.

Here the total displacement is

d = 20 - 40 + 35 = 15 m

t = 5 second

Average velocity = 15 / 5 = 3 m/s