A child operating a radio-controlled model car on a dock accidentally steers it off the edge. The car's displacement 1.0 s after leaving the dock has a magnitude of 12.8 m. What is the car's speed at the instant it drives off the edge of the dock?

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12.8 To find the car's speed at the instant it drives off the edge of the dock, we need to consider the definition of speed.

Speed is defined as the rate at which an object covers a distance. Mathematically, speed is calculated by dividing the distance covered by the time taken.

In this scenario, we are given the magnitude of the car's displacement (distance) 1.0 second after leaving the dock, which is 12.8 meters. However, we are not given the time it took for the car to reach that displacement.

To determine the car's speed, we need to know the time it took for the car to drive off the edge of the dock. Without this information, we cannot calculate the car's speed accurately.

However, if we assume that the car's displacement of 12.8 meters occurred within 1.0 second, we can calculate the speed using the given displacement and time.

Speed = Distance / Time
= 12.8 m / 1.0 s
= 12.8 m/s

Therefore, if we assume that the car's displacement of 12.8 meters occurred within 1.0 second, the car's speed at the instant it drives off the edge of the dock is 12.8 m/s.