Kinematic Concepts - Mission KC8 Detailed Help

A football coach starts at the 10-yard line (A) and walks to the 40-yard line (B). He turns around and walks to the 0-yard line (C). He turns around again and walks back to the 50-yard line (D). He turns around once more and walks back to the 25-yard line (E), thus completing his 10 minutes of pacing. The coach's average speed is ____.


 
The average speed of an object can be determined as the ratio of the overall distance traveled per time of travel:
 
ave. speed = distance / time


 
Definition of Speed:
The speed of a moving object refers to how fast the object is moving. It is the distance traveled per unit of time. Speed is a scalar quantity that is fully expressed by magnitude alone and is ignorant of changes in the direction of travel.


 
Most physics teachers would never think of answering this question without writing something down. The calculation of the average speed will be based upon an accurate determination of the distance of travel. You will have to add four numbers together to determine the overall distance. The numbers which are added are the individual distance values for each leg of the trip. The mathematics is simple addition; but by the time you determine the distance for the third leg of the trip, you could easily forget what the sum of the first two legs was. It would be a bright idea to write the numbers down in an organized fashion.


 

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