What's the difference between instantaneous and average velocity?

Instantaneous velocity refers to the speed and direction of an object at a specific moment, while average velocity is the total displacement divided by the total time.

Instantaneous velocity is a concept in physics that describes the velocity of an object at a specific point in time. It's like taking a snapshot of an object's motion at a particular instant. This is different from speed, which only gives the magnitude of motion, as velocity also includes the direction of motion. For example, if you're driving a car, your instantaneous velocity is your speed and direction at any given moment. This can change frequently as you speed up, slow down, or change direction.

On the other hand, average velocity is calculated by dividing the total displacement (the overall change in position) by the total time taken. It gives a single velocity value that represents the overall motion of the object over a period of time. For instance, if you drive from London to Manchester, your average velocity would be the total distance travelled (in a straight line from start to finish, not the path you drove) divided by the time it took you to get there.

It's important to note that average velocity can be quite different from the average of the instantaneous velocities. This is because the instantaneous velocities might vary significantly, and the average velocity only considers the total displacement and total time. For example, if you were to drive in a circle for an hour at a constant speed, your average velocity would be zero, because your total displacement would be zero, even though your instantaneous velocity was never zero.

Understanding the difference between these two concepts is crucial in physics, as they provide different information about an object's motion and are used in different types of problems and calculations.