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Consider an object accelerates uniformly. If you were to calculate the average speed of the object for a given interval of time, would the object ever be traveling with an instantaneous speed equal to that average speed? If so, when?

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Final answer:

In a uniformly accelerated motion, the object will achieve an instantaneous speed equal to its calculated average speed at least once during the interval of time due to the constant acceleration and the properties of a continuous function.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding Average and Instantaneous Speed in Uniform Acceleration

When we consider an object that accelerates uniformly, it means that the acceleration is constant over time. Therefore, the average and instantaneous accelerations are equal. In terms of speed, if you calculate the average speed of the object over a given interval of time, by definition, average speed is the total distance traveled divided by the elapsed time.

In uniformly accelerated motion, an object will have an instantaneous speed equal to the average speed at least once during the interval. This is due to the Mean Value Theorem in calculus, which, although calculus is not necessary for understanding uniform acceleration, indicates that a continuous function (in this case, speed) over an interval will take on its average value at least once within the interval. So, at some moment, the object's instantaneous speed will be the same as its calculated average speed.

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