Question

How do you find the instantaneous velocity of a curve?

Answer 1

If a curve is the graph of a position function `p(t)`, where `t` is time, then its instantaneous velocity function `v(t)` is the derivative `p'(t)`.

For example, if `p(t)=3t^2-t+5`, then its instantaneous velocity function is `v(t)=p'(t)=6t-1`.