Instead of an average velocity relative to two points:
- \(\left(x_1,\, y_1\right)\) @ time \(t_1\)
- \(\left(x_2,\, y_2\right)\) @ time \(t_2\)
where the average speed is
$$\vec{\bar{v}}=\left(\frac{x_2-x_1}{t_2-t_1}\right)\hat{i}+\left(\frac{y_2-y_1}{t_2-t_1}\right)\hat{j}$$
When you take the instantaneous limit, \(\Delta t\longrightarrow 0\) , the other two Δs decrease, also, but the ratios \(\frac{\Delta x}{\Delta t}\) and \(\frac{\Delta y}{\Delta t}\) do not vanish; they converge to a finite value, the components \(v_x\) and \(v_y\)of the instantaneous velocity at time t, where \(t_1<t<t_2\),</p>
$$\vec{v}\left(t\right)=v_x \left(t\right)\hat{i}+v_y \left(t\right)\hat{j}$$
Compare to the \(v\left(t\right)\) formula with the instantaneous limit in the next paragraph.