When is the average velocity of an object equal to the instantaneous velocity?
a) always
b)never
c) only when velocity is constant
d)only when velocity is increasing at a constant rate
c) would be the answer since you could cross out a). I do know that instantaneous velocity is the speed at that small instant in time. Is c)correct?
Yes, option c) is correct. The average velocity of an object is equal to the instantaneous velocity only when the object's velocity is constant.
To explain further, average velocity is calculated by dividing the total displacement of an object by the total time taken. On the other hand, instantaneous velocity is the velocity of an object at a precise moment in time.
If the velocity of an object is constant, that means the object is moving at the same speed in a straight line without changing its direction. In this case, the average velocity over a period of time would be the same as the instantaneous velocity at any given point within that time period.
However, if the velocity is varying, either by changing speed or direction, the average velocity over a period of time would not be equal to the instantaneous velocity at any specific moment. So, options a) and d) are not correct.
By process of elimination, option c) is the correct answer.