a car manufacture advertise that a car goes "from zero to sixty in 8 seconds" is a description of:
a) average speed
b) instantaneous speed
c) average velocity
d) instantaneous acceleration
a) and b) are incorrect since it's a change in velocity, whcih means it's acceleration. I believe d) is the correct answer because it's the change in velocity at an instant. Is this correct?
d is the best answer, but I would have worded it as average acceleration.
Its a question on scalar and vector quantities - speed and velocity have different meanings - speed has no direction, velocity does, hence given no direction, it would be speed. it is instantaneous as average would be 60-0 / 8 = x, whereas the manufacturer is trying to show greater speed, hence instantaneous speed.
You are partially correct! The correct answer is d) instantaneous acceleration.
When a car goes "from zero to sixty in 8 seconds," it refers to the time it takes for the car to accelerate from a standstill (zero speed) to a speed of sixty miles per hour. This statement describes the rate at which the car's velocity is changing over time, which is acceleration.
Average speed (option a) is calculated as the total distance traveled divided by the total time taken. Instantaneous speed (option b) is the speed of an object at a particular instant in time. They do not directly relate to the car's acceleration in this case.
Average velocity (option c) involves both the magnitude and direction of displacement over a given time interval, while instantaneous acceleration (option d) specifically refers to the rate of change of an object's velocity at an exact moment in time.
So, the correct answer is d) instantaneous acceleration, as the statement describes the rate at which the car's velocity is changing over time from a standstill to sixty miles per hour.