Question

Tell whether you would use a positive number or a negative number to represent the velocity. The velocity of a falling raindrop.

Short answer

The velocity would be represented as a negative number, to indicate the downward direction of the raindrop's motion.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Problem

It is given that a raindrop is falling. We are tasked to figure out whether we would use a positive number or a negative number to represent the velocity in this scenario.

Analyze the Direction

The direction of the raindrop is downwards because gravity is pulling it towards the earth. Therefore, according to our usual conventions where upwards is positive and downward is negative, the raindrop is moving in a negative direction.

Determine Sign of Velocity

Since the raindrop is moving downwards, and we are taking downwards as negative direction, we will represent the velocity as a negative number.