If a car's rate of change of velocity is negative, what is true about the car?

When the rate of change of velocity is negative, it indicates that the object is experiencing deceleration, meaning it is reducing its speed. In the context of a car, a negative rate of change in velocity means that the car's speed is decreasing over time. This situation occurs when the car is applying brakes or otherwise reducing its speed, which aligns with the concept of slowing down.

In contrast, a positive rate of change of velocity would suggest that the car is speeding up, while maintaining a constant speed would imply that there is no change in velocity at all, resulting in a zero rate of change. Being stopped would mean the car has no velocity to change, thus having a rate of change that is irrelevant in the context of acceleration or deceleration. Therefore, the correct interpretation when given a negative rate of change in velocity is that the car is indeed slowing down.