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