A van drive 17.5km north. Then it turns west and drives 9.1km. The van then drives 14.5km south. The entire trip takes 40 minutes. What is the average velocity of the truck?
I know avg velocity is displacement/time elasped, but I can not figure out what the displacement it....i gt 12.1km but when i dived by time the answer is wrong.....can you show steps on how to solve this?
Thanks!
To find the average velocity of the van, we need to determine the total displacement and divide it by the time elapsed.
Step 1: Determine the north-south displacement:
The van initially moves 17.5 km north and then 14.5 km south. To find the displacement, we subtract the south distance from the north distance:
Displacement = (North distance) - (South distance)
Displacement = 17.5 km - 14.5 km
Displacement = 3 km (south)
Step 2: Determine the west-east displacement:
The van does not move in the east-west direction, so the displacement in this direction is zero.
Step 3: Calculate the net displacement:
Since there is no displacement in the east-west direction, the total displacement is equal to the north-south displacement calculated in step 1:
Net Displacement = 3 km (south)
Step 4: Calculate average velocity:
Average velocity = Net Displacement / Time elapsed
Since the time elapsed is given in minutes, we need to convert it to hours (since distance is in kilometers):
Time elapsed = 40 minutes = 40/60 hours = 2/3 hours
Average velocity = 3 km / (2/3 hours)
Average velocity = 3 km * (3/2) hours
Average velocity = 9 km/hr
Therefore, the average velocity of the van is 9 km/hr.