A clever physics student is able to sneak a scale on a popular ride at an amusement park. Before the ride begins to move, the scale reads 700 N for the student's weight. As the ride lifts, it initially accelerates upward at 3 m/s2. At the top, the riders are held in suspense before the gondola is allowed to free fall downward with acceleration equal to g. What should the scale read for the student's apparent weight during the lift and the fall

Is a  vector quantity  that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." imagine a person moving rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position. while this might result in a frenzy of activity, it would result in a zero velocity. because the person always returns to the original position, the motion would never result in a change in position. since velocity is defined as the rate at which the position changes, this motion results in zero velocity. if a person in motion wishes to maximize their velocity, then that person must make every effort to maximize the amount that they are displaced from their original position. every step must go into moving that person further from where he or she started. for certain, the person should never change directions and begin to return to the starting position.