Question

When solving for speed we kept only the positive root. Why?

a) Negative speed has no physical meaning.
b) Both positive and negative roots are valid.
c) Only negative root is valid.
d) Positive speed has no physical meaning.

Answer 1

The positive root is kept when solving for speed because negative speed has no physical meaning.

Step-by-step explanation:

When solving for speed, we kept only the positive root because negative speed has no physical meaning.

Speed is a scalar quantity, which means it represents magnitude only, not direction.

Therefore, negative speed does not make sense in a physical context.