Answer: James was right since the car changed direction during the race
Explanation:
Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity per unit time:
[tex]a=\frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}[/tex]
This means that an object is accelerating whenever there is a change in its velocity. However, velocity is a vector: this means that it has both a magnitude (the speed) and a direction. Therefore, we can say that an object is accelerating when there is a change either in its speed or in its direction.
In this problem, the car travels at constant speed around an oval track: its speed remains constant, but its direction constantly changes, since hte track is oval. Therefore, the velocity of the car changes, so the car is accelerating, and James is right.