alleryStart learning →What does a car's speedometer display?
AThe magnitude of the instantaneous velocity
BThe average velocity over the whole journey
CThe direction of the instantaneous velocity
DThe total distance covered since the start
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. The magnitude of the instantaneous velocity
1. A speedometer reads the value at one instant, not a value averaged over a trip.
2. It shows the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity but not its direction.
3. Police issue tickets on that instantaneous reading.
4. The total distance covered is shown by the odometer instead.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 "Kinematics", section 2.3 Time, Velocity, and Speed_
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