Question

A helicopter travels west at 80 mph. It is moving above a car traveling on a highway at 80 mph. Given this information, you can determine that the helicopter and car are traveling ____.
Select one:

a. in the same direction

b. in different directions

c. at the same speed

d. at the same velocity

Answer 1

Answer:

d. at the same velocity

Explanation:

I will assume the car is also travelling westward because it was stated that the helicopter was moving above the car. In that case, it depends where the observer is. If the observer is in the car, the helicopter would look like it is standing still ( because both objects have the same velocity). If the observer is on the side of the road, both objects would be travelling at the same velocity. Also recall that, velocity is a vector quantity; it is direction-aware. Velocity is the rate at which the position changes but speed is the rate at which object covers distance and it is not direction wise. Hence velocity is the best option.