What is the difference between the speed of a moving object and its velocity?
velocity is a vector quantity; i.e, both speed and a direction. Speed is a scalar quantity. You can read more about it here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity
The difference between the speed of a moving object and its velocity lies in the concept of direction. Speed refers to the rate at which an object covers distance, irrespective of its direction, while velocity is a vector quantity that includes both speed and direction.
To calculate speed, you need to determine how much distance an object covers over a certain period of time regardless of its direction. The formula for speed is:
Speed = Distance / Time
Where distance is the total path length traveled by the object, and time is the duration it takes to cover that distance.
On the other hand, velocity is speed combined with direction, and it tells you the rate at which an object changes its position with respect to both distance and direction. It is calculated by dividing the displacement of the object by the time taken:
Velocity = Displacement / Time
Displacement refers to the change in position of the object from its initial point to its final point, considering direction. Therefore, velocity takes into account not only how fast an object is moving but also the direction in which it is moving.
For example, if a car moves in a straight line from point A to point B and then returns back to point A, its speed will be the same for the entire journey. However, its velocity will be zero since its displacement is zero - it ends up at the same position where it started.
In summary, speed is a scalar quantity, representing only magnitude, while velocity is a vector quantity, indicating both magnitude and direction.