Question

Is it possible to determine a car’s instantaneous velocity from just the speedometer reading?

a) Yes, instantaneous velocity is the same as speed
b) No, speedometer reading only gives average velocity
c) Yes, if the car is accelerating
d) No, instantaneous velocity is unrelated to speed

Answer 1

No, instantaneous velocity is unrelated to speed.

Step-by-step explanation:

No, instantaneous velocity is unrelated to speed.

Instantaneous velocity is the velocity of an object at a specific instant in time, while speed is a scalar quantity that only describes how fast an object is moving. The speedometer reading on a car indicates the speed of the car, but it does not provide information about the car's instantaneous velocity, which also takes into account the direction of motion.

For example, if a car is moving at a constant speed of 60 mph, its instantaneous velocity will change if it starts accelerating or decelerating, even though the speedometer reading remains the same.