What instrument indicates the aircraft's rate of climb or descent?

• A. Vertical Speed Indicator
• B. VOR Indicator
• C. Airspeed Indicator
• D. Altimeter

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is knowing which instrument shows how fast you’re changing altitude. The vertical speed indicator does that. It reads the rate at which your altitude is changing and displays it in feet per minute (positive when climbing, negative when descending, near zero when level). It gets its reading from the static pressure changes in the airplane’s system, and there’s usually a slight lag due to damping as the aircraft’s climb or descent rate changes.

Other instruments serve different roles: the VOR indicator is for navigation bearing to a VOR station, the airspeed indicator shows how fast you’re moving through the air, and the altimeter shows your current altitude, not the rate of change.