50. A flowerpot fell from a windowsill. The graph below shows the distance, d feet, the flowerpot was above the ground t seconds after it fell. The graph shows that the flowerpot fell 16 feet (from d = 256 to d = 240) during the 1st second of its fall and 48 feet (from d = 240 to d = 192) during the 2nd second of its fall. During which second of its fall, if any, was the average speed of the flowerpot, in feet per second, the greatest?
(Note: The average speed of an object over a given interval of time is the distance it traveled during the interval divided by the length of the interval.)
Your Answer is
Correct Answer is F
Explanation
The slope of the tangent at a particular point on the curve is the instantaneous velocity at that point (the negative sign represents the direction). It can be seen that the speed is the highest when it hits the ground.