You are driving in a car with your friend, who is speeding around the corner of

Question

You are driving in a car with your friend, who is speeding around the corner of a highway. You are worried for your safety, so you ask your friend how fast they’re going. Your friend responds “I am going around this corner at a constant velocity of 65 mph.” Is their statement physically correct? You are driving in a car with your friend, who is speeding around the corner of a highway. You are worried for your safety, so you ask your friend how fast they’re going. Your friend responds “I am going around this corner at a constant velocity of 65 mph.” Is their statement physically correct? You are driving in a car with your friend, who is speeding around the corner of a highway. You are worried for your safety, so you ask your friend how fast they’re going. Your friend responds “I am going around this corner at a constant velocity of 65 mph.” Is their statement physically correct?

Explanation / Answer

No, the statement is not correct. what he should have been saying is that the magnitude of his velocity or SPEED is constant at 65 mph. As they are both moving in a curved path along the corner, the direction of motion will change continuously along the curve, but the magnitude will remain constant. Hence, the speed, which is determined by magnitude, is constant but velocity, which is determined by both direction and magnitude is not constant, but is changing its vector direction.

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