Can the velocity be positive or negative?

Answer 1

Yes, velocity can be negative. Velocity is a vector, which means that it specifies a speed and a direction. However, whether it's negative depends on how the coordinate system is defined. If the right hand side is defined as being positive, then an object traveling to the right has a velocityv.If that object begins traveling to the left, it has a velocity of -v.

Answer 2

Velocity is a vector - a magnitude and a direction. The magnitude is usually taken as a non-negative number. The "vector itself" is neither positive nor negative - it is a multidimensional construct, for which such terms don't make much sense.

That's only hard to handle as long as you think that 'velocity' and 'speed' are the

same thing. They're not. 'Velocity' is speed and its direction.

-- "30 miles per hour" is a speed

-- "30 miles per hour north" is a velocity

-- "30 miles per hour east" and "30 miles per hour west" are the same speed

but different velocities.

Positive and negative velocities are simply velocities in opposite directions.

Before you start working on the situation, you definewhich direction you're

going to call positive. Anything you find moving the other way has negative

velocity according to your definition.

In problems that involve tossing rocks and balls and spears and rockets straight up,

you always have things that move up for a while and eventually start moving down.

In order to keep everything straight, when you start working with these things you

often call upward velocity 'positive'. Well then, when the thing reaches the top and

starts falling down, its velocity becomes 'negative', and everything works out nice.

Answer 3

Velocity can only be positive. Even when you are going backwards, your speed is still above zero.

There is no way to get to a number below zero when you are talking about velocity.

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Sorry. Speed (the magnitude of velocity) can't be negative, but velocity can.

If it couldn't, then two velocities could never add up to zero, which is always possible

with vectors.

Answer 4

Because before you start working on it, you define which direction you're going

to call positive. Then, whenever you find anything moving in that direction,

you call the velocity positive, and if you find something moving in the opposite

direction, you call that negative velocity.

Answer 5

Yes, velocity can be positive or negative depending on the direction of motion. A positive velocity indicates motion in one direction, while a negative velocity indicates motion in the opposite direction.

Answer 6

yes.