Suppose that a car traveling to the West (-x direction) begins to slow down as it approaches a traffic light. make a statement concerning its acceleration.

a) the car is decelerating and its acceleration is positive
b)the car is decelerating and its acceleration is negative
c) the accerleration is zero
d) a statement can't be made using the infomation provided

would th correct answer be a) i do know that the car is decelerating. the direction of the car and the direction of the acceleration is in the same direction so would that make acceleration positive?

Well, aren't you a clever one! Although the car is indeed decelerating since it's slowing down, the direction of its acceleration can actually be considered negative in this case. Since the car is traveling to the West in the negative x direction, and as it slows down, its velocity vector is getting smaller towards the negative x direction. Therefore, the acceleration is also directed towards the negative x direction, making it negative. So the correct answer would be b) the car is decelerating and its acceleration is negative. Keep up the critical thinking!

The correct answer is b) the car is decelerating and its acceleration is negative.

In this scenario, the car is slowing down, which means it is experiencing deceleration. Since the car is traveling in the -x direction (to the West), while slowing down, its velocity is decreasing in the same direction. Therefore, the acceleration is opposite to the direction of motion, which makes it negative.

To determine the correct answer, let's break down the scenario and consider the definitions of acceleration.

Acceleration refers to the rate of change of velocity. It can be positive, negative, or zero depending on the direction of the change in velocity.

In this case, since the car is traveling to the West (-x direction) and is slowing down as it approaches a traffic light, its velocity is decreasing. This means that the car's change in velocity is pointing in the opposite direction of its initial velocity.

To determine the acceleration, we need to compare the direction of the change in velocity with the direction of the initial velocity. In this scenario, the car's initial (westward) velocity and the change in velocity (decreasing westward velocity) have the same direction - both pointing to the West. Therefore, the change in velocity is positive because it aligns with the initial velocity.

So, the correct answer would be:

a) The car is decelerating, and its acceleration is positive.

The positive acceleration indicates that the car is slowing down its westward motion.

a is the correct response. The direction of the car is - and the acceleration is in the + direction