Speed and Velocity
Speed and Velocity
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SPEED is a measure of how fast an object is moving and is defined as the DISTANCE TRAVELLED in a given TIME.
It is a SCALAR quantity, meaning it only considers magnitude and NOT direction.
The formula for speed is:
Where:
The speed of a moving object is rarely constant. When people walk, run or travel in a car their speed is constantly CHANGING.
The speed at which a person can walk, run or cycle depends on many factors including: age, terrain, fitness and distance travelled.
On AVERAGE typical speeds might include:
The SPEED OF SOUND in air, is roughly 330 m/s, and it can vary depending on what substance it travels through.
VELOCITY is the speed of an object in a given DIRECTION, which makes it a VECTOR.
In the above example, the SPEED of both runners is the SAME, but the VELOCITY is different as they are running in DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
Now consider a car driving around a roundabout in CIRCULAR MOTION at a CONSTANT SPEED of 30 m/s:
Even though the SPEED is CONSTANT, the VELOCITY is NOT because the DIRECTION that the car moves in is ALWAYS CHANGING.
SPEED is a measure of how fast an object is moving and is defined as the DISTANCE TRAVELLED in a given TIME.
It is a SCALAR quantity, meaning it only considers magnitude and NOT direction.
The formula for speed is:
Where:
The speed of a moving object is rarely constant. When people walk, run or travel in a car their speed is constantly CHANGING.
The speed at which a person can walk, run or cycle depends on many factors including: age, terrain, fitness and distance travelled.
On AVERAGE typical speeds might include:
The SPEED OF SOUND in air, is roughly 330 m/s, and it can vary depending on what substance it travels through.
VELOCITY is the speed of an object in a given DIRECTION, which makes it a VECTOR.
In the above example, the SPEED of both runners is the SAME, but the VELOCITY is different as they are running in DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
Now consider a car driving around a roundabout in CIRCULAR MOTION at a CONSTANT SPEED of 30 m/s:
Even though the SPEED is CONSTANT, the VELOCITY is NOT because the DIRECTION that the car moves in is ALWAYS CHANGING.
