Which of the following statements is true?
A. An object that is accelerating is always changing direction.
B. An object that is accelerating is always changing speed.
C. An object at rest has an instantaneous acceleration of zero.
D. Instantaneous acceleration is always changing.
please help
To determine which of the given statements is true, let's break down each statement and analyze it:
A. An object that is accelerating is always changing direction.
This statement is not necessarily true. An object that is accelerating can change direction, but it can also accelerate in a straight line without changing its direction.
B. An object that is accelerating is always changing speed.
This statement is also not necessarily true. An object that is accelerating can change its speed, but it can also maintain a constant speed while changing its direction.
C. An object at rest has an instantaneous acceleration of zero.
This statement is true. When an object is at rest, it means it is not in motion. In such a case, its velocity is zero, and since acceleration measures the rate of change of velocity, the instantaneous acceleration is also zero.
D. Instantaneous acceleration is always changing.
This statement is not necessarily true. Instantaneous acceleration refers to the acceleration at any given moment in time. While the acceleration of an object can change over time, it doesn't mean that the instantaneous acceleration is always changing.
Based on the analysis above:
- Statement A is false.
- Statement B is false.
- Statement C is true.
- Statement D is false.
Therefore, the correct statement is C: An object at rest has an instantaneous acceleration of zero.