PHYS 101 Lecture 11: Chapter 3-5
Document Summary
A rabbit and a turtle compete in a race. The rabbit, who goes fast but takes frequent rest breaks and gets easily distracted, travels 0. 25 miles in 30 minutes while a turtle travels at a steady 1 mile per hour. The average speed for the turtle is 1 mi/hour. The rabbit travels a distance of 0. 25 miles in a time interval of 30 minutes. So, the average speed for the rabbit is: average speed = (0. 25 miles)/(0. 5 hour) = 0. 5 mi/hour. We can measure the speed of an object over very small time intervals. If the time interval is very small, we call the speed we measure the instantaneous speed. Instantaneous speed: the speed of an object at a specific instant in time. (as opposed to the speed measured over a relatively large time interval, which is the average speed). Example: the speedometer in your car gives you almost the instantaneous speed.
