What is the difference between average and final velocity?

AI Thread Summary
Average velocity is calculated by taking the total distance traveled divided by the total time taken, while final velocity is the speed of an object at a specific moment, often influenced by acceleration. For example, if you drive 500 miles in 9 hours, your average speed would be approximately 55.56 mph. In contrast, if you speed up to 60 mph just before finishing a race, that is your final speed. In cases of constant acceleration, the average speed can be found by averaging the initial and final speeds. Understanding these concepts is crucial for physics applications, such as calculating the motion of falling objects.
poloplaya2008
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I'm doing a report and i have NO IDEAH what the difference is between Average and Final velocity! I have checked every where! :eek:

Please help! :confused:
 
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Suppose you drive a distance of 500 miles in 9 hours, taking a stop for lunch. What was your average speed?

Just to look good to the crowd, you speed up at the last minute and cross the finish line at 60 mph. What was your final speed? (Yes, that really is as trivial a question as it looks!)

Probably you are looking at a problem where you are dropping something. Let's say you drop a ball and it take 2 seconds to hit the ground. Since the acceleration is 9.8 m/s2, in those two seconds its speed increases from 0 by 9.8(2)= 19.6 so its final speed is 19.6 m/s.

For the simple case of "constant acceleration", the average speed is just the arithmetic average of the initial and final speeds: here (0+ 19.6)/2= 9.8 m/s.
 
Thank U Soooooooo Much!
 

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