Question

a car travels 15 kilometers west in 10 minutes. after reaching the destination, the car travels back to the starting point, again taking 5 minutes. what is the average velocity of the car?

Answer 1

The car's average velocity for the entire trip is 0 km/h because it returned to its starting point, resulting in a displacement of zero over a time period of 15 minutes (0.25 hours).

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the average velocity of the car, we need to determine the total displacement and the total time taken for the round trip. Since the car returns to the starting point, its displacement is zero. The total time taken for the entire trip is 10 minutes to go west and 5 minutes to return, which adds up to 15 minutes or 0.25 hours.

Using the formula for average velocity, which is the total displacement divided by the total time, we get:

Vavg = Displacement / Time
Vavg = 0 km / 0.25 h
Vavg = 0 km/h

Hence, the car's average velocity for the entire trip is 0 km/h, despite having traveled a total distance of 30 kilometers.

Answer 2

Velocity = (displacement) / (time)

'Displacement' is the distance between the start-point and end-point,
so the car's displacement is zero, and its average velocity is zero.

However, Speed = (distance covered) / (time to cover the distance).

The car covered a distance of 30 km in 15 minutes,
so its average speed is

(30km) / (0.25 hour) = 120 km/hr.

'Velocity' is not simply a word you use for 'speed' when
you want to sound smarter. They're two different things.