- #1
Jacobo
- 7
- 0
can anyone verify my thought process here?
so, instantaneous velocity is like average velocity in that it is a slope between two points on a graph of position as a function of time
but the two points in a problem with instantaneous velocity are made to be extremely close, almost the same point in fact (a derivative)
so in the end, our result for instantaneous velocity is really just an approximation (as are all derivatives)
is this right? it seems to have some philosophical implications that we don't get an exact identity...
also, since i am already making a post--is the difference between average speed and average velocity just that average speed is the absolute value of average velocity?
thanks in advance
so, instantaneous velocity is like average velocity in that it is a slope between two points on a graph of position as a function of time
but the two points in a problem with instantaneous velocity are made to be extremely close, almost the same point in fact (a derivative)
so in the end, our result for instantaneous velocity is really just an approximation (as are all derivatives)
is this right? it seems to have some philosophical implications that we don't get an exact identity...
also, since i am already making a post--is the difference between average speed and average velocity just that average speed is the absolute value of average velocity?
thanks in advance