Average Speed And Average Velocity
A jogger completes one full lap around a circular track of circumference 400 m in exactly 100 s, returning to the starting line. What are the average speed and average velocity respectively?
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- kinematics
- Topic
- average speed and average velocity
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
4m/sand0m/s
Average speed is defined as total distance divided by total time, while average velocity is total displacement divided by total time. These two quantities are conceptually distinct because speed depends on the entire path length, but velocity depends only on the net change in position. For one complete lap, the jogger travels a distance equal to the full circumference, 400 m, so the average speed is 400/100=4 m/s. However, since the jogger finishes at the same point where the lap began, the net displacement over the lap is zero, giving an average velocity of 0/100=0 m/s. The option 4 m/s and 4 m/s is wrong because it incorrectly equates displacement with distance. The option 0 m/s and 4 m/s simply swaps the two results. The option 2 m/s and 2 m/s uses a wrong distance value. This mirrors the NCERT distinction between scalar and vector kinematic averages. As a plausibility check, average velocity for any closed loop must be exactly zero because the position vector returns to its initial value.
This easy difficulty physics question is from the chapter kinematics, covering the topic of average speed and average velocity. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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