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How speed and velocity differ?

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Anonymous

14y ago
Updated: 8/17/2019

Speed is the distance travelled in a given period of time and is measured in metres per second or miles per hour (ie 'distance' per 'unit of time'). It is always a positive number. Velocity, however,, is the sppeed of an object in a given direction. So that if you define ''forwards' as a positive velocity, then if the object travels 'backwards', that would be classed as a negative velocity. So, if a car travels forwards, say, at 30 mph, its speed will be 30mph and its velocity will also be 30mph. However, if the car returns at the same speed, its speed will still be 30mph but its velocity will be - 30mph (minus 30mph) as the car is travelling in the opposite direction. This may seem a pointless exercise, but in equations of motion that involve speed, velocity, accceleration, time and so on, the direction of travel is important and so the velocity is used rather than speed. The concept of velocity is used in space travel, satellite technology, calculating flight paths, calculating missile trajectories and so on and so direection of travel - and hence velocity - is of vital importance.

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Zackery Schumm

Lvl 13
3y ago

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Related Questions

How does velocity differ from speed?

Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both speed and direction, while speed is a scalar quantity that only measures the rate at which an object is moving. In other words, velocity tells you not only how fast something is going but also in what direction it is moving.


In what ways are speed and velocity similar and different?

Speed and velocity are both measures of how fast an object is moving, but they differ in that speed is a scalar quantity that only considers the magnitude of the motion, while velocity is a vector quantity that includes both the magnitude and direction of the motion.


How velocity and speed differ from each other?

Velocity is a vector measurement, it has both a speed quantity, but also includes direction. Speed is a scalar measurement, it only concerns with the how fast the object is moving, not its direction


When measuring two different velocities if the time interval of measurement is the same for both what will differ?

I would think direction since velocity is a vector. Could also be speed. Speed is just a rate, velocity has speed and a direction. Short answer: direction with a speed caveat to account for the ambiguity in the question.


How does velocity differ from acceleration?

Velocity is the rate of change of an object's position with respect to time, and it includes both speed and direction. Acceleration, on the other hand, is the rate of change of an object's velocity with respect to time, indicating how quickly the velocity of an object is changing over time.


What is uniform velocity and how does it differ from other types of motion?

Uniform velocity is when an object moves in a straight line at a constant speed. It differs from other types of motion, such as acceleration or deceleration, because the object's speed remains the same throughout its movement.


What is speed in a given direction is called?

Speed in a given direction is velocity.


Are speed and velocity different?

SPEED has the speed only; while VELOCITY has the direction and the speed.


How is speed of a body related its velocity?

Part of every velocity is a speed. Speed is the size of the velocity.But the velocity also has a direction, which the speed doesn't.'30 mph North' and '30 mph West' are the same speed but different velocity.


What is speed in a given direction?

Speed in a given direction is called velocity.


How do velocity and speed differ?

Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both speed and direction, while speed is a scalar quantity that only refers to the magnitude of motion. In other words, velocity specifies the rate of change of an object's position in a particular direction, while speed simply indicates how fast an object is moving without considering the direction.


How does acceleration and velocity differ?

Acceleration is the rate at which velocity is changing.