Question

"Mr. Cvetanovich decided that today was a great day for a jog. So he took off running west for 6 blocks,

North for 4 blocks, west for 7 blocks, south for 8 blocks, east for 13 blocks and finally North for 4 blocks. If
he were to look at his fitbit and see that his average speed was 7 miles per hour, what is the fitbit
calculating Velocity or Speed? Give evidence to support your argument. Also, what is the difference in
speed and velocity and give an example of when each is a more effective measurement."

Is Mr. Cvetanovich's fitbit calculating velocity or speed? Provide evidence to support your argument.

A) Velocity
B) Speed
C) Cannot be determined

Answer 1

Mr. Cvetanovich's Fitbit is measuring speed, as it provides the average rate of movement without direction. Speed is scalar and only indicates how fast an object is moving, whereas velocity is a vector and includes both speed and direction.

Step-by-step explanation:

Mr. Cvetanovich's Fitbit is calculating speed, not velocity. Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to how fast an object is moving and is the total distance traveled divided by the time it takes to travel that distance. Since his running involves changes in direction and the Fitbit is showing the average rate of movement without direction, it is measuring speed. Velocity, on the other hand, is a vector quantity that includes both the speed and the direction of an object's movement. The evidence that the Fitbit is measuring speed lies in the fact that it does not provide information on the direction of the travel, only the rate.

The difference between speed and velocity is that speed is directionless and only considers how fast an object moves, whereas velocity includes direction. An example is driving a car: a car's speedometer measures speed because it only shows how fast the car is moving, not the direction. However, if you calculate the change in position (or displacement) of the car over a period of time, you are determining velocity. Measuring speed is more effective when you only need to know how fast an object is moving, while measuring velocity is crucial when both the magnitude and direction of the object’s movement are important, such as in navigation.