What is the difference between average and instantaneous velocity?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To start, consider the core concept: velocity describes how fast and in what direction an object is moving, and we distinguish between an average over an interval and an instantaneous value at a specific moment.

Option a: 'Average velocity is a scalar quantity, instantaneous velocity is a vector quantity.' This is incorrect because velocity, by definition, is a vector quantity (it has both magnitude and direction). Both average and instantaneous velocity are vector quantities, not one scalar and one vector.

Option b: 'Average velocity occurs in a time interval, instantaneous velocity occurs at a point of time.' This accurately captures the distinction: average velocity averages over a finite time interval (change in position over change in time), while instantaneous velocity is the velocity at an exact moment in time (the limit as the time interval shrinks to zero). This aligns with standard definitions in kinematics.

Option c: 'Average velocity is a vector quantity, instantaneous velocity is a scalar quantity.' This is incorrect because, as noted, both are vectors. The statement flips the true nature of the quantities, introducing a fundamental error about vector vs scalar properties.

Option d: 'Average velocity occurs at a point of time, instantaneous velocity occurs in a time interval.' This reverses the actual meanings: average velocity is not tied to a single instant but to an interval; instantaneous velocity is defined at a single time. The wording inverts the concepts and is misleading.

In summary, option b correctly states the conceptual distinction between average velocity and instantaneous velocity, while options a, c, and d mischaracterize fundamental properties or definitions related to velocity.

UCIC 202503 PHYS101 Quiz 1

What is the difference between average and instantaneous velocity?

查看解析

登录即可查看完整答案

类似问题

An automobile of mass 2000 kg moving at 20 m/s is braked suddenly with a constant braking force of 10,000 N. How far does the car travel before stopping?

What is the meaning of subscript i in vi and subscript f in vf?

What is the difference between velocity and acceleration?

What is a motion?

Joe and Bill throw identical balls vertically upward. Joe throws his ball with an initial speed of twice as high as Bill's ball. The maximum height of Joe's ball will be

Which of the following equations of motion would be used to calculate the displacement given the initial and final velocities as well as the acceleration?

Which of the following equations of motion would be used to calculate the displacement given the initial and final velocities as well as the time taken?

更多留学生实用工具

考试浏览器助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单