asked 96.7k views
4 votes
5. An athlete runs 5.4 laps around a circular track that is 400.0 m

long. If this takes 540 s, what is the average velocity of the athlete?
What is the average speed of the athlete over the complete
distance of the run?

1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

Average velocity = 40 m/s

Average speed = 4 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given;

  • Number of laps covered as 5.4 laps
  • Distance for 1 complete lap is 400.0 m
  • Time taken is 540 seconds

We are required to calculate the average velocity and the average speed of the athlete.

#1. Average velocity of the athlete

  • Velocity is a vector quantity given by dividing displacement with time taken.

In this case,

  • The displacement is 0.4 × 400 m = 160 m
  • This is because for the five complete laps displacement is zero because the athlete will be at the same starting point.
  • Time taken for one lap is 540 s ÷ 5.4 = 100 s
  • Therefore; for 0.4 laps time taken will be 0.4 × 100 = 40 s

Thus;

Velocity = Displacement ÷ time

= 160 m ÷ 40 s

= 40 m/s

The average velocity of the athlete is 40 m/s

#2. Average speed of the athlete

Speed is a scalar quantity calculated by dividing distance by time taken.

In this case;

Total distance is 5.4 × 400 m = 2160 m

time taken is 540 s

Therefore;

Speed = Distance ÷ time

= 2160 m ÷ 540 s

= 4 m/s

Thus, the average speed of the athlete is 4 m/s

answered
User Syd Lambert
by
7.8k points
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