Answer to Question #171921 in Physics for moe

Question

Explain why “speed” and “velocity” are meaningless terms. Why must we always say average or instantaneous? 

Answer 1

Average speed – the speed of an object measured over the whole journey. Instantaneous speed – the speed of an object at the very instant of being measured.

Instantaneous velocity is a continuous function of time and gives the velocity at any point in time during a particle’s motion. The average velocity of an object is its total displacement divided by the total time taken.