Finding instantaneous speed at t = 20 s

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Bensky
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Help with average speed/instantaneous speed! :(

Homework Statement



Graph of magnitude of displacement (m) against time (s) from 0 to 50 s: displacement rises in steps and a sloped segment to about 2.0 m near 30 s, stays flat until about 40 s, then drops to zero by about 45 s.

1. EDIT: Figured this one out, now I just need to know about the 2nd question about instantaneous speed.
2. What is its instantaneous speed at t = 20 s?

Homework Equations



v= change in x/change in t

The Attempt at a Solution



I have no idea how to do this. My textbook doesn't really cover this section well, and I'm just starting out in Physics.
I did v=2/20 and came out with .1, but I think it's wrong.
 
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Bensky said:

Homework Statement



Graph of magnitude of displacement (m) against time (s). Displacement stays near 0 to about 5 s, rises to about 0.5 m, stays flat until about 15 s, rises to about 2.0 m by about 30 s, stays near 2.0 m until about 40 s, then drops to 0 by about 45 s.

1. What is its average speed during the first 35 s?
2. What is its instantaneous speed at t = 20 s?

Homework Equations



v= change in x/change in t

The Attempt at a Solution



I have no idea how to do this. My textbook doesn't really cover this section well, and I'm just starting out in Physics.
I did v=2/20 and came out with .1, but I think it's wrong.


Is it average speed or average velocity.As it is a displacement versus time graph.
 
FedEx said:
Is it average speed or average velocity.As it is a displacement versus time graph.

Average speed. That's where I'm confused. Why would they give me that type of graph?
 
Average speed is the area of the graph divided by the time.
 
Sourabh N said:
Average speed is the area of the graph divided by the time.

Ok, well I figured out the average speed by doing d/t I think. Either way, it told me I was right, so now I just have the instantaneous speed problem that I don't understand. D:
 
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instanteneous speed is defined as the tangent to the curve at that point(time).
 
Sourabh N said:
instanteneous speed is defined as the tangent to the curve at that point(time).

So I would use the slope formula to find it?