Physics
Physics
Problem
A bird flies 3.0 km due east and then 4.0 km due north. The entire trip takes 30 min. What is the magnitude of the bird’s average velocity? a) b) c) d)Intuitive explanation
Average velocity is about the straight-line displacement from start to finish, not the path length traveled. Use the Pythagorean theorem to find how far the bird actually is from its starting point, then divide by total time. The key insight: average velocity ignores all the twists and turns—it only cares about the net change in position.
Intuitive explanation
Average velocity is about the straight-line displacement from start to finish, not the path length traveled. Use the Pythagorean theorem to find how far the bird actually is from its starting point, then divide by total time. The key insight: average velocity ignores all the twists and turns—it only cares about the net change in position.