Table of Contents
What is speed?
The rate of change of the position of the object is called the speedSpeed has only magnitude and no directionTherefore, speed is a scalar quantityA fast-moving object has a larger speedThe SI unit of speed can be determined from the unit of distance and timeThe SI unit of distance is metres and the SI unit of time is secondsTherefore, speed is measured in meters per secondThe fastest speed is the speed of lightThe speed of light is equal to 3 x 108 m/sGalileo was the first person to measure speed.
What is the formula of speed?
From the definition of speed, we can find “What is the formula of speed?”Speed is measured as the ratio of the distancetimeTherefore, the formula for speed is given as
Speed = distance/time
Speed is of two types: average speed and instantaneous speedThe speed we talk about mostly is about average speedAverage speed is the total distance traveled per unit of timeBut speed will be changing as the object movesThe object can move faster sometime and slower sometimeSo there is something called instantaneous speedInstantaneous speed is the speed of the object at a particular instantThe instantaneous speed is measuredtaking a very short span of time.
Distance and Displacement
Distance and displacement are two terms that seem almost similarDistance is the measure of how much ground an object has moved during the motionDisplacement is the measure of the shortest distance between the initial position and the final positionThe distance between the two objects does not depend on the direction, whereas displacement depends on the direction of motion.
What is the difference between speed and velocity?
Speed is the distance coveredthe object in a unit timeVelocity is a measure of displacement per unit timeLet us find “What is the difference between speed and velocity?”
The distance coveredan object can never be zero, therefore speed can never be zeroDistance is a scalar quantity, therefore speed is also a scalar quantitySpeed is not dependent on the direction of motion of the object.
Displacement can be a zero, therefore the velocity of the object can also be zeroVelocity is a vector quantity since displacement is also a vector quantityVelocity and displacement depend on the direction of motion of the objectThe SI unit for speed and velocity is the sameBoth speed and velocity are measured in m/s.
For example, 60km/hr is the measure of the speed of the car, while 60 km/hr in the east direction is velocityCalculating speed is pretty simple, whereas calculating velocity is a bit complicatedAn object may possess different velocity but the speed will remain the sameThe speed of the object may be equal to the velocity sometime but not always.
