The average velocity of a runner completing a 1500m race on a 400m track, with lap times of 60, 75, 65, and 60 seconds, is definitively 0 m/s. This conclusion arises from the fact that the runner cannot start and finish at the same point on a 400m track while completing a 1500m race, resulting in zero displacement. The confusion stems from the misinterpretation of the race distance and the definition of average velocity versus average speed.
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This question is horrendously worded. If the runner completed four laps of a 400m track, then he would have traveled 1600m, not 1500m. I'm not sure if the last timing refers to the final 300m, or implied that the runner continued for an additional 100m after the race had finished. If it is the former, then the question can be answered (even though it is badly defined). If it is the latter, then the question cannot be answered.bionut said:
If those times are indeed the 400m lap-times, then the question cannot be answered, in my opinion.bionut said:
Over a 1600m race, that could be the case. However, over a 1500m race on a 400m track, that cannot possibly be the case. There is no way that a runner can start and finish a 1500m race at the same point on a 400m track.bionut said:
bionut said:
tiny-tim said:Hey guys!
Read the question! …
average velocity, not average speed!
bionut said:
Hootenanny said:
tiny-tim said:Hi Hoot!
Well, the answer is 0 m/s, so he must have done it somehow!
Could a typo be the culprit? Could that be a 1600 meter race? (How do you get four 400 m laps to add to 1500 m?)bionut said: