If a race car completed a full lap and is where he started, why is his average velocity zero but his average speed isn’t?

Velocity is displacement over time, whereas speed is distance over time. Displacement is the shortest distance from point A to point B(a straight line). In this case, the starting point(point A) is the ending point(point B) therefore the distance between the start and finish is zero, and zero divided by the driver’s lap time is zero(from the equation), meaning zero velocity. Distance however is the total length of the track in this case. The average speed will be the length of the lap over the time taken to complete the lap, which would be larger than zero.

OO

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

A bat emits a sound wave with a frequency of 25.0 kHz and a wavelength of 0.0136 metres. Calculate the speed of this sound wave.


How high can you raise a kilogram of sugar with 1 kWh of electrical energy? (To 2 s.f in kilometres)


When the current through an ohmic conductor is 2A, the potential difference across it is 6V. What is the potential difference across the same ohmic conductor when the current is increased to 3A?


What is the resistance (in Ohms) of two 20 Ohm resisters in parallel?