Question

24. Which of the following statements correctly distinguishes between average velocity and instantaneous velocity?
A. average velocity is the speed of an object at a given moment, while instantaneous velocity is the total displacement divided by the total time.
B. average velocity and instantaneous velocity are the same thing; they both describe the rate of change of position over time.
C. average velocity is the rate of change of position at a specific point in time, while instantaneous velocity is the total displacement divided by the total time.
D. average velocity is the total displacement divided by the total time, while instantaneous velocity is the velocity of an object at a specific moment of time.

Answer 1

D.

Average velocity = total displacement divided by total time (Δx/Δt). Instantaneous velocity = the velocity at a specific moment, formally the limit of the average velocity as the time interval → 0 (dx/dt).