Which of the following statements is false?
1)The velocity of an object can change while maintaining a constant speed.
2)An object that maintains a constant speed must have zero acceleration.
3)An object that has a non-zero acceleration must have a changing velocity.
4)The speed of an object can change without the direction of its velocity vector changing.
Why would any be false?
The homework says 3 out of 4 are correct. With 1 being false so that means one of these have to be false.
Are you in University Physics to Lexi? And yeah the homework states that there is one of the statements that is false for the answer choice.
To determine the false statement among the given options, let's evaluate each statement one by one.
1) The velocity of an object can change while maintaining a constant speed.
This statement is true. Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both speed and direction. If an object changes its direction while maintaining the same speed, its velocity will change even though the speed remains constant.
2) An object that maintains a constant speed must have zero acceleration.
This statement is false. Acceleration is the rate at which an object's velocity changes. Even if the speed of an object remains constant, it can still have acceleration if its direction changes. For example, an object moving in a circular path at a constant speed will have a non-zero acceleration towards the center of the circle.
3) An object that has a non-zero acceleration must have a changing velocity.
This statement is true. Acceleration is defined as the change in velocity over time. If an object has a non-zero acceleration, it means its velocity is changing. The magnitude or direction of the velocity or both can change.
4) The speed of an object can change without the direction of its velocity vector changing.
This statement is true. Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to the magnitude of velocity. It disregards direction. If an object changes its speed while moving in a straight line without changing its direction, the velocity's direction remains the same.
Therefore, the false statement among the given options is statement 2) "An object that maintains a constant speed must have zero acceleration."