Chapter 10, Problem 34A

The speedometer in a car is driven by a cable connected to the shaft that turns the car’s wheels. Will speedometer readings be more or less than actual speed when the car’s wheels are replaced with smaller ones?

To determine

To Explain: Whether the speedometer reading be more or less than actual speed when car’s wheels are replaced by smaller wheels.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

The speedometer records the counting of round per minute of the wheels. The faster the car’s speed for the same number of rounds per minute, the bigger the wheels.

The speedometer reading is more than that of actual speed when the wheels of the car is replaced with the smaller one because the rims of the smaller wheels do not move as far per rotation, therefore the car with smaller wheels goes slower as compared to that reading which is shown by the speedometer.

Conclusion:

Thus, the speedometer reading is more than that of actual speed.