Adding velocity vectors to get average velocity

AI Thread Summary
Displacement vectors can be summed to determine total displacement when driving, but adding velocity vectors to find average velocity is more complex. Average velocity is defined as total change in position divided by total time, not simply the sum of velocity vectors. If each segment's velocity vector corresponds to equal time intervals, averaging them by dividing the sum by the number of segments is possible. However, if time intervals vary, this method would not yield an accurate average velocity. Understanding the relationship between displacement, velocity, and time is crucial for accurate calculations.
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If you're driving in a car and map out all the displacement vectors, you can add the segments to get the total displacement. Correct?

Why can't we add the various velocity vectors for the different segments to get the average velocity. ?

Could you add up all the velocity vectors and divide by the # of segments?
 
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If all the vectors represented the same amount of time, you could.
 
Average velocity is also the total change in position divided by the total time.
 
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