Question

A car travels at a constant speed of 20m/s and yet it does not have a constant velocity. Explain how this could be.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Speed is a scalar quantity: it has a magnitude, but not a direction.

If I say to you “That car is driving at 55 miles per hour,” I have told you the car’s speed.

Velocity is a vector quantity: it has both magnitude and direction.

If I say to you “That car is driving at 55 miles per hour north,” I have told you the car’s velocity.

Acceleration is the rate of change in an object’s velocity. Because velocity involves direction, there are three ways an object can accelerate: speed up, slow down, or change direction.

If a car is traveling at a constant velocity, that means that both its speed and direction are constant. If a car’s speed or direction changes, then its velocity has changed, which means the car has experienced acceleration.

If a car is traveling at a constant speed, that says nothing about its direction. A car could drive around a circular path without changing its speed. It would be traveling at a constant speed, and still accelerating due to its changing direction.

So…A car can accelerate while traveling at a constant speed if its direction of travel changes. But the phrase constant velocity implies zero acceleration, which means no speeding up, no slowing down, and no changing directions.

Answer 2

Answer:

Here is the explanation. Hope it helps

Explanation:

Velocity is speed as well as distance mentioned.

The car is travelling at a constant speed of 20m/s but it may not be travelling in any particular direction. It would be taking many turns (left and right) or it would be moving in a circular manner.

So, it is at constant speed but not constant velocity