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Average speed is called average speed because it represents an average speed of something over a distance. Avarage could be thought of as a way to "even out" speed over a distance to see how fast an object was moving across that distance if it moved at a constant speed.

An average speed takes into account stops and restarts as well as changes in speed of an object over the distance under consideration. The moving object might be moving faster at some points and slower at others. The object might stop and then resume traveling. All these things are "evened out" by average speed.

A car taking a group to an eatery across town will start and stop as well as change speed across the distance. By dividing the distance by the travel time, we get the average speed that a car moving at a constant velocity would travel at to make the trip.

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Q: Why is average speed called average speed?
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