Holden is trying to determine the velocity of his race car.He went 20 meters east turned around, and went 40 meters west. His car was 20 meters from the starting line. This took 5 seconds. What is the car's average velocity? 4m/s east 4m/s m/s west 12m/s west 12m/s east

To determine the car's average velocity, we need to consider the total displacement and the total time taken.<br /><br />1. **Displacement**: Displacement is the change in position from the starting point. Holden's car starts at the origin, goes 20 meters east, then turns around and goes 40 meters west. This means the final position is 20 meters west of the starting point (since he ends up 20 meters from the starting line in the opposite direction).<br /><br />2. **Total Time**: The total time taken for this journey is 5 seconds.<br /><br />3. **Average Velocity**: Average velocity is calculated as the total displacement divided by the total time taken. Since the displacement is 20 meters west and the time is 5 seconds, the average velocity is:<br /><br /> \[<br /> \text{Average Velocity} = \frac{\text{Displacement}}{\text{Time}} = \frac{-20 \, \text{meters}}{5 \, \text{seconds}} = -4 \, \text{m/s}<br /> \]<br /><br /> The negative sign indicates the direction is west.<br /><br />Therefore, the car's average velocity is \(4 \, \text{m/s}\) west. The correct answer is:<br /><br />\(4 \, \text{m/s} \, \text{west}\)