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A car moves along a straight road at a constant speed without ever changing direction. How does the magnitude of its average velocity compare with its average speed?
AThey are always equal
BVelocity magnitude is smaller
CVelocity magnitude is larger
DAverage velocity is zero here
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. They are always equal
1. Displacement equals distance whenever the motion never reverses direction on a straight path.
2. Average velocity magnitude is displacement over time, and average speed is distance over time.
3. Since displacement and distance are equal here, the two averages come out equal.
_Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 "Motion in One Dimension", section 2.2 Speed and Velocity_
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