How Is Velocity Different From Speed?
I can see the question forming in your mind. Isn’t velocity same as speed then? Well, speed and velocity are almost the same things with one difference. Speed is a scalar quantity while velocity is a vector quantity. That is, when I talk about the speed of a car, I don’t worry about which direction its going in. I only want to know the numerical measure of distance covered in unit time. On the other hand, while specifying velocity, I specify what direction is this speed directed in! That makes velocity a vector. I assume you know what a vector means. Speed is the purely the magnitude of velocity. When I say that the car is moving at 80 kilometers per hour, I am talking about speed. When I say, car is moving at 80 kilometers per hour towards east, I am specifying velocity! How to Calculate Velocity in Physics? With that definition of velocity, the velocity formula or velocity equation should be clear to you. The average velocity formula (in case ΔX is the displacement vector ΔT is the t
