Question

Can a body have constant speed as well as variable velocity? If yes, give one example.

Answer 1

- Hint: In this question use the concept whenever the direction of the body changes the velocity of the body changes however speed remains constant so use this concept to reach the solution of the question.

Complete step-by-step solution -

Yes, a body has constant speed as well as variable velocity.
Consider an example: A particle moving in a circular path with a uniform circular motion.
Now as we know that in a circular motion the direction of the particle is always changing at every instant of time as shown in the figure it is not uniform so the velocity of the particle is also changed as the velocity is a vector quantity (magnitude as well as direction), but speed is a scalar quantity (magnitude only).
The body has velocity ${v_1},{v_2},{v_3},{\text{ and }}{v_4}$ at different interval of times as shown in the figure, but the speed of the body is uniform.
So we can say that a body has constant speed as well as variable velocity.
So this is the required answer.

Note – An interesting fact is that with a changing speed, a body cannot have a constant velocity. For instance: a car can't slow down and still go the same velocity and direction. And the car also has uniform speed and distance.