Question

multiple choice question
which of the following allows us to compute how long a trip might take but says little about the variation in speed during the trip?

○ instantaneous speed
○ displacement
○ distance
○ average speed

Explanation:

• Instantaneous speed is the speed at a single moment, so it describes speed variation but not total trip time.
• Displacement is the straight-line distance between start/end, it does not relate to trip time or speed variation directly.
• Distance is the total path traveled, but alone cannot compute trip time.
• Average speed is calculated as $\frac{\text{total distance}}{\text{total time}}$, so we can rearrange it to find trip time ($\text{total time} = \frac{\text{total distance}}{\text{average speed}}$), and it does not account for changes in speed during the trip.

Answer:

D. Average speed