Question

John is traveling north at 20 meters/second and his friend Betty is traveling south at 20 meters/second. If north is the positive direction, what are John and Betty's speeds?

Answer 1

Explanation:

John is traveling north at 20 meters/second and his friend Betty is traveling south at 20 meters/second.

We know that the total distance covered divided by total time taken is called speed of an object. It is a scalar quantity i.e. it have only magnitude. While velocity is a vector quantity.

In this case, north direction is considered as positive while south direction is considered as negative.

So, John's speed is 20 meters/second and Betty's speed is 20 meters/second as speed is a scalar quantity.

Answer 2

John's velocity is 20 m/s north.
Betty's velocity is 20 m/s south.
Their speeds are both 20 m/s.