I thought that they were the same thing. Are they not? What would be some examples for Velocity?
Although velocity and speed are often used interchangeably in everyday language, they have different definitions in physics.
Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both speed and direction. It refers to the rate at which an object changes its position with respect to time, along with the direction in which it moves. On the other hand, speed is a scalar quantity that only reflects the rate at which an object moves without considering its direction.
To calculate velocity, you need to know both the speed and direction of motion. The formula for velocity is:
Velocity = Displacement / Time
where displacement refers to the change in position, and time represents the duration.
Here are some examples to help differentiate speed and velocity:
1. A car traveling at 100 km/h on a straight highway: Here, the car's speed is 100 km/h since it reflects the rate at which the car is moving. However, the velocity would be 100 km/h east (or west, depending on the direction), as it specifies both the speed and the direction of the car's motion.
2. A person running around a circular track at a constant speed: Regardless of the person's speed, if they continuously loop around the circular track without changing direction, their velocity would be zero. This is because their displacement is zero since they end up at the same position they started.
3. A plane taking off to the north at an increasing speed: As the speed of the plane increases, its velocity would also increase, indicating the rate at which it moves in the northward direction.