what is relative velocity?Answer with an example & description also a diagram.
Relative velocity is the velocity of an object relative to another object or point of reference. It describes the motion of an object with respect to another moving object or observer. To better understand relative velocity, let's consider an example:
Let's imagine two cars, Car A and Car B, initially stationary at point O as shown in the diagram below:
<--- Car A
O --------|--------->
Car B --->
Now, let's say Car B starts moving to the right with a velocity of 30 m/s, while Car A starts moving to the left with a velocity of 20 m/s. In this scenario, we want to find the relative velocity of Car A with respect to Car B.
To determine the relative velocity, we need to choose one of the two objects as our point of reference. Here, let's consider Car B as our reference point.
Since Car B is moving to the right with a velocity of 30 m/s and Car A is moving to the left with a velocity of 20 m/s, the relative velocity of Car A with respect to Car B is the algebraic sum of their velocities. In this case, it would be:
Relative velocity = Velocity of Car A - Velocity of Car B
= - 20 m/s - (- 30 m/s) [converting the direction of Car B's velocity to the opposite direction]
= - 20 m/s + 30 m/s
= 10 m/s
Therefore, the relative velocity of Car A with respect to Car B is 10 m/s to the left. This means that Car A appears to be moving at a speed of 10 m/s to the left when observed from the frame of reference of Car B.
I hope this explanation helps you understand relative velocity better.