

Search
 Physics Tutorial
o 1-D Kinematics
o Newton's Laws
o Vectors - Motion and Forces in Two Dimensions
o Momentum and Its Conservation
o Work, Energy, and Power
o Circular Motion and Satellite Motion
o Thermal Physics
o Static Electricity
o Current Electricity
o Waves
o Sound Waves and Music
o Light Waves and Color
o Reflection and the Ray Model of Light
o Refraction and the Ray Model of Light
 Physics Interactives
 Concept Builders
 Shockwave Studios
 Multimedia Studios
 The Review Session
 Minds On Physics the App
 Minds On Physics - Legacy
 The Calculator Pad
 Physics Help
 ACT Test Center
 Curriculum Corner
 Question Bank
 NGSS Corner
 Teacher Toolkits
 Reasoning Center
 The Laboratory
 The Photo Gallery
 Share The News
The Physics Classroom » Physics Tutorial » 1-D Kinematics » Acceleration

1-D Kinematics - Lesson 1 - Describing Motion with Words

Acceleration
 Introduction
 Scalars and Vectors
 Distance and Displacement
 Speed and Velocity
 Acceleration
The final mathematical quantity discussed in Lesson 1 is acceleration. An often confused quantity, acceleration has a
meaning much different than the meaning associated with it by sports announcers and other individuals. The definition of
acceleration is:
Acceleration is a vector quantity that is defined as the rate at which an object changes its velocity. An
object is accelerating if it is changing its velocity.
Sports announcers will occasionally say that a person is accelerating if he/she is moving fast. Yet
acceleration has nothing to do with going fast. A person can be moving very fast and still not be
accelerating. Acceleration has to do with changing how fast an object is moving. If an object is not
changing its velocity, then the object is not accelerating. The data at the right are representative of a
northward-moving accelerating object. The velocity is changing over the course of time. In fact, the
velocity is changing by a constant amount - 10 m/s - in each second of time. Anytime an object's
velocity is changing, the object is said to be accelerating; it has an acceleration.
The Meaning of Constant Acceleration
Sometimes an accelerating object will change its velocity by the same amount each second. As mentioned in the previous
paragraph, the data table above show an object changing its velocity by 10 m/s in each consecutive second. This is
referred to as a constant acceleration since the velocity is changing by a constant amount each second. An object with
a constant acceleration should not be confused with an object with a constant velocity. Don't be fooled! If an object is
changing its velocity -whether by a constant amount or a varying amount - then it is an accelerating object. And an object
with a constant velocity is not accelerating. The data tables below depict motions of objects with a constant acceleration
and a changing acceleration. Note that each object has a changing velocity.

Since accelerating objects are constantly changing their velocity, one can say that the distance traveled/time is not a
constant value. A falling object for instance usually accelerates as it falls. If we were to observe the motion of a free-
falling object (free fall motion will be discussed in detail later), we would observe that the object averages a velocity of
approximately 5 m/s in the first second, approximately 15 m/s in the second second, approximately 25 m/s in the third
second, approximately 35 m/s in the fourth second, etc. Our free-falling object would be constantly accelerating. Given
these average velocity values during each consecutive 1-second time interval, we could say that the object would fall 5
meters in the first second, 15 meters in the second second (for a total distance of 20 meters), 25 meters in the third
second (for a total distance of 45 meters), 35 meters in the fourth second (for a total distance of 80 meters after four
seconds). These numbers are summarized in the table below.

Total Distance
Time Velocity Change Ave. Velocity Distance Traveled Traveled from
Interval During Interval During Interval During Interval 0 s to End of
Interval
0 – 1.0 s 0 to ~10 m/s ~5 m/s ~5 m ~5 m
1.0 – 2.0 s ~10 to 20 m/s ~15 m/s ~15 m ~20 m
2.0 – 3.0 s ~20 to 30 m/s ~25 m/s ~25 m ~45 m
3.0 – 4.0 s ~30 to 40 m/s ~35 m/s ~35 m ~80 m

Note: The ~ symbol as used here means approximately.

This discussion illustrates that a free-falling object that is accelerating at a constant rate will cover different distances in
each consecutive second. Further analysis of the first and last columns of the data above reveal that there is a square
relationship between the total distance traveled and the time of travel for an object starting from rest and moving with a
constant acceleration. The total distance traveled is directly proportional to the square of the time. As such, if an object
travels for twice the time, it will cover four times (2^2) the distance; the total distance traveled after two seconds is four
times the total distance traveled after one second. If an object travels for three times the time, then it will cover nine
times (3^2) the distance; the distance traveled after three seconds is nine times the distance traveled after one second.
Finally, if an object travels for four times the time, then it will cover 16 times (4^2) the distance; the distance traveled
after four seconds is 16 times the distance traveled after one second. For objects with a constant acceleration, the
distance of travel is directly proportional to the square of the time of travel.

Calculating the Average Acceleration

The average acceleration (a) of any object over a given interval of time (t) can be calculated using the equation
This equation can be used to calculate the acceleration of the object whose motion is depicted by the velocity-time data
table above. The velocity-time data in the table shows that the object has an acceleration of 10 m/s/s. The calculation is
shown below.

Acceleration values are expressed in units of velocity/time. Typical acceleration units

include the following:
m/s/s
mi/hr/s
km/hr/s
m/s2
These units may seem a little awkward to a beginning physics student. Yet they are very reasonable units when you
begin to consider the definition and equation for acceleration. The reason for the units becomes obvious upon
examination of the acceleration equation.

Since acceleration is a velocity change over a time, the units on acceleration are velocity units divided by time units - thus
(m/s)/s or (mi/hr)/s. The (m/s)/s unit can be mathematically simplified to m/s2.

The Direction of the Acceleration Vector

Since acceleration is a vector quantity, it has a direction associated with it. The direction of the acceleration vector
depends on two things:
 whether the object is speeding up or slowing down
 whether the object is moving in the + or - direction
The general principle for determining the acceleation is:
If an object is slowing down, then its acceleration is in the opposite direction of its motion.

This general principle can be applied to determine whether the sign of the acceleration of an object
is positive or negative, right or left, up or down, etc. Consider the two data tables below. In each
case, the acceleration of the object is in the positive direction. In Example A, the object is moving in
the positive direction (i.e., has a positive velocity) and is speeding up. When an object is speeding
up, the acceleration is in the same direction as the velocity. Thus, this object has a positive acceleration. In Example
B, the object is moving in the negative direction (i.e., has a negative velocity) and is slowing down. According to
our general principle, when an object is slowing down, the acceleration is in the opposite direction as the velocity. Thus,
this object also has a positive acceleration.

This same general principle can be applied to the motion of the objects represented in the two data tables below. In each
case, the acceleration of the object is in the negative direction. In Example C, the object is moving in
the positive direction (i.e., has a positive velocity) and is slowing down. According to our principle, when an object is
slowing down, the acceleration is in the opposite direction as the velocity. Thus, this object has a negative
acceleration. In Example D, the object is moving in the negative direction (i.e., has a negative velocity) and is speeding
up. When an object is speeding up, the acceleration is in the same direction as the velocity. Thus, this object also has
a negative acceleration.
Observe the use of positive and negative as used in the discussion above (Examples A - D). In physics, the use of positive
and negative always has a physical meaning. It is more than a mere mathematical symbol. As used here to describe the
velocity and the acceleration of a moving object, positive and negative describe a direction. Both velocity and acceleration
are vector quantities and a full description of the quantity demands the use of a directional adjective. North, south, east,
west, right, left, up and down are all directional adjectives. Physics often borrows from mathematics and uses the + and -
symbols as directional adjectives. Consistent with the mathematical convention used on number lines and graphs, positive
often means to the right or up and negative often means to the left or down. So to say that an object has a negative
acceleration as in Examples C and D is to simply say that its acceleration is to the left or down (or in whatever direction
has been defined as negative). Negative accelerations do not refer acceleration values that are less than 0. An
acceleration of -2 m/s/s is an acceleration with a magnitude of 2 m/s/s that is directed in the negative direction.

We Would Like to Suggest ...

 Sometimes it isn't enough to just read about it. You have to interact with it! And that's

exactly what you do when you use one of The Physics Classroom's Interactives. We would like to suggest that you
combine the reading of this page with the use of our Name That Motion Interactive. It is found in the Physics Interactive
section and allows a learner to apply concepts of speed, velocity and acceleration.

Visit Name That Motion.

Check Your Understanding

To test your understanding of the concept of acceleration, consider the following problems and the corresponding
solutions. Use the equation for acceleration to determine the acceleration for the following two motions.

See Answer to A

See Answer to B
Jump To Next Lesson:
 Introduction to Diagrams
1.2K

Follow Us
 home
 about
 privacy
© 1996-2018 The Physics Classroom, All rights reserved.
  chaos
 eworld
 facts
 get bent
 physics

The Physics
Hypertextbook
Opus in profectus
 … velocity
 acceleration
 motion-equations …

Acceleration
  discussion
 summary
 practice
 problems
 resources

Discussion
definition
When the velocity of an object changes it is said to be accelerating. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time.

In everyday English, the word acceleration is often used to describe a state of increasing speed. For many Americans, their only
experience with acceleration comes from car ads. When a commercial shouts "zero to sixty in six point seven seconds" what they're
saying here is that this particular car takes 6.7 s to reach a speed of 60 mph starting from a complete stop. This example illustrates
acceleration as it is commonly understood, but acceleration in physics is much more than just increasing speed.

Any change in the velocity of an object results in an acceleration: increasing speed (what people usually mean when they say
acceleration), decreasing speed (also called decelerationor retardation), or changing direction (called centripetal acceleration). Yes,
that's right, a change in the direction of motion results in an acceleration even if the moving object neither sped up nor slowed down.
That's because acceleration depends on the change in velocity and velocity is a vector quantity — one with both magnitude and
direction. Thus, a falling apple accelerates, a car stopping at a traffic light accelerates, and an orbiting planet accelerates. Acceleration
occurs anytime an object's speed increases or decreases, or it changes direction.
Much like velocity, there are two kinds of acceleration: average and instantaneous. Average acceleration is determined over a "long"
time interval. The word long in this context means finite — something with a beginning and an end. The velocity at the beginning of
this interval is called the initial velocity, represented by the symbol v0 (vee nought), and the velocity at the end is called the final
velocity, represented by the symbol v (vee). Average acceleration is a quantity calculated from two velocity measurements.
Δv v − v0
a̅ = =
Δt Δt

In contrast, instantaneous acceleration is measured over a "short" time interval. The word short in this context means infinitely small
or infinitesimal — having no duration or extent whatsoever. It's a mathematical ideal that can can only be realized as a limit. The limit
of a rate as the denominator approaches zero is called a derivative. Instantaneous acceleration is then the limit of average acceleration
as the time interval approaches zero — or alternatively, acceleration is the derivative of velocity.
lim Δv dv
a= =
Δt→0 Δt dt

Acceleration is the derivative of velocity with time, but velocity is itself the derivative of displacement with time. The derivative is a
mathematical operation that can be applied multiple times to a pair of changing quantities. Doing it once gives you a first derivative.
Doing it twice (the derivative of a derivative) gives you a second derivative. That makes acceleration the first derivative of velocity
with time and the second derivative of displacement with time.
dv d ds d2s
a= = =
dt dt dt dt2

A word about notation. In formal mathematical writing, vectors are written in boldface. Scalars and the magnitudes of vectors are
written in italics. Numbers, measurements, and units are written in roman (not italic, not bold, not oblique — ordinary text). For
example…
a = 9.8 m/s2, θ = −90° or a = 9.8 m/s2 at −90°

(Design note: I think Greek letters don't look good on the screen when italicized so I have decided to ignore this rule for Greek letters
until good looking Greek fonts are the norm on the web.)

units
Calculating acceleration involves dividing velocity by time — or in terms of units, dividing meters per second [m/s] by second [s].
Dividing distance by time twice is the same as dividing distance by the square of time. Thus the SI unit of acceleration is
the meter per second squared.
⎡m m/s m 1⎤
= =
⎣ s2 s s s⎦

Another frequently used unit is the acceleration due to gravity — g. Since we are all familiar with the effects of gravity on ourselves
and the objects around us it makes for a convenient standard for comparing accelerations. Everything feels normal at 1 g, twice as
heavy at 2 g, and weightless at 0 g. This unit has a precisely defined value of 9.80665 m/s2, but for everyday use 9.8 m/s2 is sufficient,
and 10 m/s2 is convenient for quick estimates.
The unit called acceleration due to gravity (represented by a roman g) is not the same as the natural phenomena called acceleration due
to gravity (represented by an italic g). The former has a defined value whereas the latter has to be measured. (More on this later.)
Although the term "g force" is often used, the g is a measure of acceleration, not force. (More on forces later.) Of particular concern to
humans are the physiological effects of acceleration. To put things in perspective, all values are stated in g.
 In roller coaster design, speed is of the essence. Or, is it? If speed was all there was to designing a thrill ride, then the freeway would be pretty
exciting. Most roller coaster rarely exceed 30 m/s (60 mph). Contrary to popular belief, it is the acceleration that makes the ride interesting. A
well designed roller coaster will subject the rider to maximum accelerations of 3 to 4 g for brief periods. This is what gives the ride its
dangerous feel.
 Despite the immense power of its engines, the acceleration of the Space Shuttle is kept below 3 g. Anything greater would put unnecessary
stress on the astronauts, the payload, and the ship itself. Once in orbit, the whole system enters into an extended period of free fall, which
provides the sensation of weightlessness. Such a "zero g" environment can also be simulated inside a specially piloted aircraft or a free fall
drop tower. (More on this later.)
 Fighter pilots can experience accelerations of up to 8 g for brief periods during tactical maneuvers. If sustained for more than a few seconds, 4
to 6 g is sufficient to induce blackout. To prevent "g-force loss of consciousness" (G-LOC), fighter pilots wear special pressure suits that
squeeze the legs and abdomen, forcing blood to remain in the head.
 Pilots and astronauts may also train in human centrifuges capable of up to 15 g. Exposure to such intense accelerations is kept very brief for
safety reasons. Humans are rarely subjected to anything higher than 8 g for longer than a few seconds.
 Acceleration is related to injury. This is why the most common sensor in a crash test dummy is the accelerometer. Extreme acceleration can
lead to death. The acceleration during the crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 was estimated to have been on the order of 70 to
100 g, which was intense enough to tear the pulmonary artery from her heart — an injury that is nearly impossible to survive. Had she been
wearing a seat belt, the acceleration would have been something more like 30 or 35 g — enough to break a rib or two, but not nearly enough to
kill most people.

Here are some sample accelerations to end this section.

a (m/s2) event

5 × 10−14 smallest acceleration in a scientific experiment

2 × 10−10 galactic acceleration at the sun

9 × 10−10 anomalous acceleration of pioneer spacecraft

0.5 elevator, hydraulic

0.63 free fall acceleration on pluto

1 elevator, cable

1.6 free fall acceleration on the moon

8.8 International Space Station

3.7 free fall acceleration on mars

9.8 free fall acceleration on earth

10–40 manned rocket at launch

 20 space shuttle, peak

24.8 free fall acceleration on jupiter

20–50 roller coaster

80 limit of sustained human tolerance

0–150 human training centrifuge

100–200 ejection seat

270 free fall acceleration on the sun

600 airbags automatically deploy

104–106 medical centrifuge

106 bullet in the barrel of a gun

106 free fall acceleration on a white dwarf star

1012 free fall acceleration on a neutron star

 Acceleration of selected events (smallest to largest)

event typical car sports car F-1 race car large truck

starting 0.3–0.5 0.5–0.9 1.7 < 0.2

braking 0.8–1.0 1.0–1.3 2 ~ 0.6

cornering 0.7–0.9 0.9–1.0 3 ?

Automotive accelerations (g)

a (g) event

2.9 sneeze

3.5 cough

3.6 crowd jostle

4.1 slap on back

8.1 hop off step

 10.1 plop down in chair

60 chest acceleration during car crash at 48 km/h with airbag

70–100 crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, 1997

150–200 head acceleration limit during bicycle crash with helmet

Acceleration and the human body

 discussion
 summary
 practice
 problems
 resources

Acceleration
 … velocity
 acceleration
 motion-equations …

The Physics Hypertextbook

©1998–2018 Glenn Elert
Author, Illustrator, Webmaster

No condition is permanent.
1. mechanics
1. kinematics
 1. motion
2. distance & displacement
3. speed & velocity
4. acceleration
5. equations of motion
6. falling bodies
7. graphs of motion
8. kinematics & calculus
9. kinematics in two dimensions
10. projectiles
11. parametric equations
2. dynamics i: force
1. forces
2. force & mass
3. action-reaction
4. weight
5. dynamics & statics
6. friction
7. equilibrium
8. forces in two dimensions
9. centripetal force
10. frames of reference
3. energy
1. work
2. energy
3. kinetic energy
4. potential energy
5. conservation of energy
6. power
7. simple machines
4. dynamics ii: momentum
 1. impulse & momentum
2. conservation of momentum
3. momentum & energy
4. momentum in two dimensions
5. rotational motion
1. rotational kinematics
2. rotational inertia
3. rotational dynamics
4. rotational equilibrium
5. angular momentum
6. rotational energy
7. rolling
8. rotation in two dimensions
9. coriolis force
6. planetary motion
1. geocentrism
2. heliocentrism
3. universal gravitation
4. orbital mechanics i
5. gravitational potential energy
6. orbital mechanics ii
7. gravity of extended bodies
7. periodic motion
1. springs
2. simple harmonic oscillator
3. pendulums
4. resonance
5. elasticity
8. fluids
1. density
2. pressure
 3. buoyancy
4. fluid flow
5. viscosity
6. aerodynamic drag
7. flow regimes
2. thermal physics
1. heat & temperature
1. temperature
2. thermal expansion
3. the atomic nature of matter
4. gas laws
5. kinetic-molecular theory
6. phases
2. calorimetry
1. sensible heat
2. latent heat
3. chemical potential energy
3. heat transfer
1. conduction
2. convection
3. radiation
4. thermodynamics
1. heat & work
2. pressure-volume diagrams
3. engines
4. refrigerators
5. energy & entropy
6. absolute zero
3. waves & optics
1. wave phenomena
1. the nature of waves
 2. interference & superposition
3. interfaces & barriers
2. sound
1. the nature of sound
2. intensity
3. doppler effect (sound)
4. shock waves
5. diffraction & interference (sound)
6. standing waves
7. beats
8. music & noise
3. physical optics
1. the nature of light
2. polarization
3. doppler effect (light)
4. cerenkov radiation
5. diffraction & interference (light)
6. thin film interference
7. color
4. geometric optics
1. reflection
2. refraction
3. spherical mirrors
4. spherical lenses
5. aberration
4. electricity & magnetism
1. electrostatics
1. electric charge
2. coulomb's law
3. electric field
4. electric potential
 5. gauss's law
6. conductors
2. electrostatic applications
1. capacitors
2. dielectrics
3. batteries
3. electric current
1. electric current
2. electric resistance
3. electric power
4. dc circuits
1. resistors in circuits
2. batteries in circuits
3. capacitors in circuits
4. kirchhoff's rules
5. magnetostatics
1. magnetism
2. electromagnetism
3. ampère's law
4. electromagnetic force
6. magnetodynamics
1. electromagnetic induction
2. faraday's law
3. lenz' law
4. inductance
7. ac circuits
1. alternating current
2. rc circuits
3. rl circuits
4. lc circuits
8. electromagnetic waves
 1. maxwell's equations
2. electromagnetic waves
3. electromagnetic spectrum
5. modern physics
1. relativity
1. space-time
2. mass-energy
3. general relativity
2. quanta
1. blackbody radiation
2. photoelectric effect
3. x-rays
4. antimatter
3. wave mechanics
1. matter waves
2. atomic models
3. semiconductors
4. condensed matter
4. nuclear physics
1. isotopes
2. radioactive decay
3. half life
4. binding energy
5. fission
6. fusion
7. nucleosynthesis
8. nuclear weapons
9. radiobiology
5. particle physics
1. quantum electrodynamics
2. quantum chromodynamics
 3. quantum flavordynamics
4. the standard model
5. beyond the standard model
6. foundations
1. units
1. international system of units
2. gaussian system of units
3. british-american system of units
4. miscellaneous units
5. time
6. unit conversion
2. measurement
1. significant digits
2. order of magnitude
3. graphs
1. graphical representation of data
2. linear regression
3. curve fitting
4. calculus
4. vectors
1. trigonometry
2. vector addition & subtraction
3. vector resolution & components
4. vector multiplication
5. reference
1. special symbols
2. frequently used equations
3. physical constants
4. astronomical data
5. periodic table of the elements
6. people in physics
7. back matter
1. preface
1. about this book
2. contact the author
1. glennelert.us
2. google+
3. twitter
4. youtube
3. affiliated websites
1. hypertextbook.com
2. midwoodscience.org
3. toddcam.com
4. virtualempire.com
Acceleration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about acceleration in physics. For other uses, see Acceleration (disambiguation) and Accelerate (disambiguation).

Acceleration

In the absence of air resistance and thus terminal velocity, a falling

ball would continue to accelerate.
Common symbols a

SI unit m/s2, m·s−2, m s−2

Part of a series of articles about

Classical mechanics

Second law of motion

 History
 Timeline

Branches[show]

Fundamentals[show]

Formulations[show]

Core topics[show]

Rotation[show]

Scientists[show]
  v
 t
 e

Acceleration, in physics, is the rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time. An object's acceleration is the net result of any
and all forces acting on the object, as described by Newton's Second Law.[1] The SI unit for acceleration is metre per second squared (m
s−2). Accelerations are vector quantities (they have magnitude and direction) and add according to the parallelogram law.[2][3] As a vector, the
calculated net force is equal to the product of the object's mass (a scalar quantity) and its acceleration.
For example, when a car starts from a standstill (zero relative velocity) and travels in a straight line at increasing speeds, it is accelerating in
the direction of travel. If the car turns, an acceleration occurs toward the new direction. In this example, we can call the forward acceleration
of the car a "linear acceleration", which passengers in the car might experience as a force pushing them back into their seats. When
changing direction, we might call this "non-linear acceleration", which passengers might experience as a sideways force. If the speed of the
car decreases, this is an acceleration in the opposite direction from the direction of the vehicle, sometimes
called deceleration.[4] Passengers may experience deceleration as a force lifting them forwards. Mathematically, there is no separate
formula for deceleration: both are changes in velocity. Each of these accelerations (linear, non-linear, deceleration) might be felt by
passengers until their velocity (speed and direction) matches that of the car.

Contents
[hide]

 1Definition and properties

o 1.1Average acceleration
o 1.2Instantaneous acceleration
o 1.3Units
o 1.4Other forms
 2Tangential and centripetal acceleration
 3Special cases
o 3.1Uniform acceleration
o 3.2Circular motion
 4Relation to relativity
o 4.1Special relativity
o 4.2General relativity
 5Conversions
 6See also
 7References
 8External links

Definition and properties[edit]

Kinematic quantities of a classical particle: mass m, position r, velocity v, acceleration a.

Average acceleration[edit]

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. At any point on a trajectory, the magnitude of the acceleration is given by the rate of change of velocity in
both magnitude and direction at that point. The true acceleration at time t is found in the limit as time interval Δt → 0 of Δv/Δt

An object's average acceleration over a period of time is its change in velocity divided by the duration of the period .
Mathematically,
Instantaneous acceleration[edit]

From bottom to top:

 an acceleration function a(t);

 the integral of the acceleration is the velocity function v(t);
 and the integral of the velocity is the distance function s(t).
Instantaneous acceleration, meanwhile, is the limit of the average acceleration over an infinitesimal interval of time. In the terms
of calculus, instantaneous acceleration is the derivative of the velocity vector with respect to time:

(Here and elsewhere, if motion is in a straight line, vector quantities can be substituted by scalars in the equations.)
It can be seen that the integral of the acceleration function a(t) is the velocity function v(t); that is, the area under the curve of an
acceleration vs. time (a vs. t) graph corresponds to velocity.
As acceleration is defined as the derivative of velocity, v, with respect to time t and velocity is defined as the derivative of
position, x, with respect to time, acceleration can be thought of as the second derivative of x with respect to t:

Units[edit]
Acceleration has the dimensions of velocity (L/T) divided by time, i.e. L.T−2. The SI unit of acceleration is the metre per
second squared (m s−2); or "metre per second per second", as the velocity in metres per second changes by the
acceleration value, every second.
Other forms[edit]
An object moving in a circular motion—such as a satellite orbiting the Earth—is accelerating due to the change of direction
of motion, although its speed may be constant. In this case it is said to be undergoing centripetal (directed towards the
center) acceleration.
Proper acceleration, the acceleration of a body relative to a free-fall condition, is measured by an instrument called
an accelerometer.
In classical mechanics, for a body with constant mass, the (vector) acceleration of the body's center of mass is proportional
to the net forcevector (i.e. sum of all forces) acting on it (Newton's second law):

where F is the net force acting on the body, m is the mass of the body, and a is the center-of-mass acceleration. As
speeds approach the speed of light, relativistic effects become increasingly large.
Tangential and centripetal acceleration[edit]

An oscillating pendulum, with velocity and acceleration marked. It experiences both tangential and centripetal acceleration.

Components of acceleration for a curved motion. The tangential component at is due to the change in speed of traversal, and
points along the curve in the direction of the velocity vector (or in the opposite direction). The normal component (also called
centripetal component for circular motion) ac is due to the change in direction of the velocity vector and is normal to the trajectory,
pointing toward the center of curvature of the path.

See also: Local coordinates

The velocity of a particle moving on a curved path as a function of time can be written as:

with v(t) equal to the speed of travel along the path, and

a unit vector tangent to the path pointing in the direction of motion at the chosen moment in time. Taking into
account both the changing speed v(t) and the changing direction of ut, the acceleration of a particle moving on
a curved path can be written using the chain rule of differentiation[5] for the product of two functions of time as:

where un is the unit (inward) normal vector to the particle's trajectory (also called the principal normal),
and r is its instantaneous radius of curvature based upon the osculating circle at time t. These
components are called the tangential acceleration and the normal or radial acceleration (or centripetal
acceleration in circular motion, see also circular motion and centripetal force).
Geometrical analysis of three-dimensional space curves, which explains tangent, (principal) normal and
binormal, is described by the Frenet–Serret formulas.[6][7]

Special cases[edit]
Uniform acceleration[edit]

Calculation of the speed difference for a uniform acceleration

Uniform or constant acceleration is a type of motion in which the velocity of an object changes by an equal
amount in every equal time period.
A frequently cited example of uniform acceleration is that of an object in free fall in a uniform gravitational
field. The acceleration of a falling body in the absence of resistances to motion is dependent only on
the gravitational field strength g (also called acceleration due to gravity). By Newton's Second
Law the force, F, acting on a body is given by:

Because of the simple analytic properties of the case of constant acceleration, there are simple
formulas relating the displacement, initial and time-dependent velocities, and acceleration to the time
elapsed:[8]

where

 is the elapsed time,

 is the initial displacement from the origin,

 is the displacement from the origin at time ,

 is the initial velocity,

 is the velocity at time , and

 is the uniform rate of acceleration.

In particular, the motion can be resolved into two orthogonal parts, one of constant
velocity and the other according to the above equations. As Galileo showed, the net result
is parabolic motion, which describes, e. g., the trajectory of a projectile in a vacuum near
the surface of Earth.[9]
Circular motion[edit]

Position vector r, always points radially from the origin.

Velocity vector v, always tangent to the path of motion.

Acceleration vector a, not parallel to the radial motion but offset by the angular and Coriolis
accelerations, nor tangent to the path but offset by the centripetal and radial accelerations.
Kinematic vectors in plane polar coordinates. Notice the setup is not restricted to 2d space, but a
plane in any higher dimension.

Uniform circular motion, that is constant speed along a circular path, is an example of a
body experiencing acceleration resulting in velocity of a constant magnitude but change
of direction. In this case, because the direction of the object's motion is constantly
changing, being tangential to the circle, the object's linear velocity vector also changes,
but its speed does not. This acceleration is a radial acceleration since it is always directed
toward the centre of the circle and takes the magnitude:

where is the object's linear speed along the circular path. Equivalently, the

radial acceleration vector ( ) may be calculated from the object's angular

velocity :

where is a vector directed from the centre of the circle and equal in
magnitude to the radius. The negative shows that the acceleration vector is
directed towards the centre of the circle (opposite to the radius).
The acceleration and the net force acting on a body in uniform circular motion are
directed toward the centre of the circle; that is, it is centripetal. Whereas the so-
called 'centrifugal force' appearing to act outward on the body is really a pseudo
force experienced in the frame of reference of the body in circular motion, due to
the body's linear momentum at a tangent to the circle.
With nonuniform circular motion, i.e., the speed along the curved path changes, a
transverse acceleration is produced equal to the rate of change of the angular
speed around the circle times the radius of the circle. That is,
The transverse (or tangential) acceleration is directed at right angles to the

radius vector and takes the sign of the angular acceleration ( ).

Relation to relativity[edit]
Special relativity[edit]
Main articles: Special relativity and Acceleration (special relativity)

The special theory of relativity describes the behavior of objects traveling

relative to other objects at speeds approaching that of light in a
vacuum. Newtonian mechanics is exactly revealed to be an approximation to
reality, valid to great accuracy at lower speeds. As the relevant speeds
increase toward the speed of light, acceleration no longer follows classical
equations.
As speeds approach that of light, the acceleration produced by a given force
decreases, becoming infinitesimally small as light speed is approached; an
object with mass can approach this speed asymptotically, but never reach it.
General relativity[edit]
Main article: General relativity

Unless the state of motion of an object is known, it is impossible to

distinguish whether an observed force is due to gravity or to acceleration—
gravity and inertial acceleration have identical effects. Albert Einstein called
this the principle of equivalence, and said that only observers who feel no
force at all—including the force of gravity—are justified in concluding that
they are not accelerating.[10]

Conversions[edit]

Conversions between common units of acceleration

 Base value (Gal, or cm/s2) (ft/s2) (m/s2) (Standard gravity, g0)

1 Gal, or cm/s2 1 0.0328084 0.01 0.00101972

1 ft/s2 30.4800 1 0.304800 0.0310810

1 m/s2 100 3.28084 1 0.101972

1 g0 980.665 32.1740 9.80665 1

See also[edit]
 Inertia
 Four-vector: making the connection between space and time explicit
 Gravitational acceleration
 Acceleration (differential geometry)
 Orders of magnitude (acceleration)
 Shock (mechanics)
 Shock and vibration data logger
measuring 3-axis acceleration
 Space travel using constant acceleration
 Specific force
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ Crew, Henry (2008). The Principles of Mechanics. BiblioBazaar,
LLC. p. 43. ISBN 0-559-36871-2.
2. Jump up^ Bondi, Hermann (1980). Relativity and Common Sense. Courier
Dover Publications. p. 3. ISBN 0-486-24021-5.
3. Jump up^ Lehrman, Robert L. (1998). Physics the Easy Way. Barron's
Educational Series. p. 27. ISBN 0-7641-0236-2.
4. Jump up^ Raymond A. Serway; Chris Vuille; Jerry S. Faughn
(2008). College Physics, Volume 10. Cengage.
p. 32. ISBN 9780495386933.
5. Jump up^ Weisstein, Eric W. "Chain Rule". Wolfram MathWorld. Wolfram
Research. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
6. Jump up^ Larry C. Andrews; Ronald L. Phillips (2003). Mathematical
Techniques for Engineers and Scientists. SPIE Press. p. 164. ISBN 0-8194-
4506-1.
7. Jump up^ Ch V Ramana Murthy; NC Srinivas (2001). Applied Mathematics.
New Delhi: S. Chand & Co. p. 337. ISBN 81-219-2082-5.
8. Jump up^ Keith Johnson (2001). Physics for you: revised national
curriculum edition for GCSE (4th ed.). Nelson Thornes. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-
7487-6236-1.
9. Jump up^ David C. Cassidy; Gerald James Holton; F. James Rutherford
(2002). Understanding physics. Birkhäuser. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-387-98756-
9.
10. Jump up^ Brian Greene, The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the
Texture of Reality, page 67. Vintage ISBN 0-375-72720-5

External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related
to Acceleration.

 Acceleration Calculator Simple acceleration unit converter

 Measurespeed.com - Acceleration Calculator Based on starting & ending
speed and time elapsed.
 [show]

Kinematics

[show]

Classical mechanics SI units

Categories:
 Physical quantities
 Dynamics (mechanics)
 Kinematics
 Acceleration
Navigation menu

 Not logged in

 Talk

 Contributions

 Create account

 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Search
Go

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
 In other projects
 Wikimedia Commons
Languages
 ‫العربية‬
 Español
 हिन्दी
 Къарачай-малкъар
 Русский
 Tagalog
 ‫اردو‬
 Winaray
 中文
107 more
Edit links

 This page was last edited on 27 February 2018, at 12:28.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms
may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is
a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Developers

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view

 Enable previews



Speed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the property of moving bodies. For other uses, see Speed (disambiguation).

"Slow" and "Slowness" redirect here. For other uses, see Slow (disambiguation) and Slowness (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable
sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Speed

Speed can be thought of as the rate at which an object

covers distance. A fast-moving object has a high speed and covers a

relatively large distance in a given amount of time, while a slow-

moving object covers a relatively small amount of distance in the

 same amount of time.

Common symbols v

SI unit m/s, m s−1

Part of a series of articles about

Classical mechanics

Second law of motion

 History
 Timeline

Branches[show]

Fundamentals[hide]

 Acceleration
 Angular momentum
 Couple
 D'Alembert's principle
 Energy
o kinetic
o potential
  Force
 Frame of reference
 Inertial frame of reference
 Impulse
 Inertia / Moment of inertia
 Mass

Mechanical power
 Mechanical work

Moment
 Momentum
 Space
 Speed
 Time
 Torque
 Velocity
 Virtual work

Formulations[show]

Core topics[show]

Rotation[show]
 Scientists[show]

 v
 t
 e

In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity (the rate of change of its position); it is thus
a scalar quantity.[1] The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance travelled by the object divided by the duration of
the interval;[2] the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as the duration of the time interval approaches zero.
Speed has the dimensions of distance divided by time. The SI unit of speed is the metre per second, but the most common unit of speed in
everyday usage is the kilometre per hour or, in the US and the UK, miles per hour. For air and marine travel the knot is commonly used.
The fastest possible speed at which energy or information can travel, according to special relativity, is the speed of light in a
vacuum c = 299792458 metres per second (approximately 1079000000 km/h or 671000000 mph). Matter cannot quite reach the speed of light,
as this would require an infinite amount of energy. In relativity physics, the concept of rapidity replaces the classical idea of speed.

Contents
[hide]

 1Definition
o 1.1Historical definition
o 1.2Instantaneous speed
o 1.3Average speed
o 1.4Tangential speed
 2Units
 3Examples of different speeds
 4Psychology
 5See also
 6References

Definition[edit]
Historical definition[edit]
Italian physicist Galileo Galilei is usually credited with being the first to measure speed by considering the distance covered and the time it
takes. Galileo defined speed as the distance covered per unit of time.[3] In equation form, that is

where is speed, is distance, and is time. A cyclist who covers 30 metres in a time of 2 seconds, for example, has a
speed of 15 metres per second. Objects in motion often have variations in speed (a car might travel along a street at 50 km/h, slow to
0 km/h, and then reach 30 km/h).
Instantaneous speed[edit]
Speed at some instant, or assumed constant during a very short period of time, is called instantaneous speed. By looking at
a speedometer, one can read the instantaneous speed of a car at any instant.[3] A car travelling at 50 km/h generally goes for less than
one hour at a constant speed, but if it did go at that speed for a full hour, it would travel 50 km. If the vehicle continued at that speed for
half an hour, it would cover half that distance (25 km). If it continued for only one minute, it would cover about 833 m.

In mathematical terms, the instantaneous speed is defined as the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity , that is,

the derivative of the position with respect to time:[2][4]

If is the length of the path (also known as the distance) travelled until time , the speed equals the time derivative of
:[2]

In the special case where the velocity is constant (that is, constant speed in a straight line), this can be simplified to . The
average speed over a finite time interval is the total distance travelled divided by the time duration.
Average speed[edit]
Different from instantaneous speed, average speed is defined as the total distance covered divided by the time interval. For
example, if a distance of 80 kilometres is driven in 1 hour, the average speed is 80 kilometres per hour. Likewise, if 320
kilometres are travelled in 4 hours, the average speed is also 80 kilometres per hour. When a distance in kilometres (km) is
divided by a time in hours (h), the result is in kilometres per hour (km/h). Average speed does not describe the speed variations
that may have taken place during shorter time intervals (as it is the entire distance covered divided by the total time of travel),
and so average speed is often quite different from a value of instantaneous speed.[3] If the average speed and the time of travel
are known, the distance travelled can be calculated by rearranging the definition to

Using this equation for an average speed of 80 kilometres per hour on a 4-hour trip, the distance covered is found to be
320 kilometres.
Expressed in graphical language, the slope of a tangent line at any point of a distance-time graph is the instantaneous
speed at this point, while the slope of a chord line of the same graph is the average speed during the time interval covered
by the chord.
Tangential speed[edit]
Linear speed is the distance travelled per unit of time, while tangential speed (or tangential velocity) is the linear speed of
something moving along a circular path.[5] A point on the outside edge of a merry-go-round or turntable travels a greater
distance in one complete rotation than a point nearer the center. Travelling a greater distance in the same time means a
greater speed, and so linear speed is greater on the outer edge of a rotating object than it is closer to the axis. This speed
along a circular path is known as tangential speedbecause the direction of motion is tangent to the circumference of the
circle. For circular motion, the terms linear speed and tangential speed are used interchangeably, and both use units of
m/s, km/h, and others.
Rotational speed (or angular speed) involves the number of revolutions per unit of time. All parts of a rigid merry-go-round
or turntable turn about the axis of rotation in the same amount of time. Thus, all parts share the same rate of rotation, or
the same number of rotations or revolutions per unit of time. It is common to express rotational rates in revolutions per
minute (RPM) or in terms of the number of "radians" turned in a unit of time. There are little more than 6 radians in a full
rotation (2π radians exactly). When a direction is assigned to rotational speed, it is known as rotational velocity or angular
velocity. Rotational velocity is a vector whose magnitude is the rotational speed.
Tangential speed and rotational speed are related: the greater the RPMs, the larger the speed in metres per second.
Tangential speed is directly proportional to rotational speed at any fixed distance from the axis of rotation.[5] However,
tangential speed, unlike rotational speed, depends on radial distance (the distance from the axis). For a platform rotating
with a fixed rotational speed, the tangential speed in the centre is zero. Towards the edge of the platform the tangential
speed increases proportional to the distance from the axis.[6] In equation form:
where v is tangential speed and ω (Greek letter omega) is rotational speed. One moves faster if the rate of rotation
increases (a larger value for ω), and one also moves faster if movement farther from the axis occurs (a larger value
for r). Move twice as far from the rotational axis at the centre and you move twice as fast. Move out three times as far
and you have three times as much tangential speed. In any kind of rotating system, tangential speed depends on how
far you are from the axis of rotation.
When proper units are used for tangential speed v, rotational speed ω, and radial distance r, the direct proportion
of v to both r and ω becomes the exact equation

Thus, tangential speed will be directly proportional to r when all parts of a system simultaneously have the same
ω, as for a wheel, disk, or rigid wand.

Units[edit]
Main article: Conversion of units § Speed or velocity

Units of speed include:

 metres per second (symbol m s−1 or m/s), the SI derived unit;

 kilometres per hour (symbol km/h);
 miles per hour (symbol mi/h or mph);
 knots (nautical miles per hour, symbol kn or kt);
 feet per second (symbol fps or ft/s);
 Mach number (dimensionless), speed divided by the speed of sound;
 in natural units (dimensionless), speed divided by the speed of light in vacuum (symbol c = 299792458 m/s).

Conversions between common units of speed

m/s km/h mph knot ft/s

1 m/s = 1 3.6 2.236936 1.943844 3.280840

1 km/h = 0.277778 1 0.621371 0.539957 0.911344

1 mph = 0.44704 1.609344 1 0.868976 1.466667

1 knot = 0.514444 1.852 1.150779 1 1.687810

1 ft/s = 0.3048 1.09728 0.681818 0.592484 1

(Values in bold face are exact.)

Examples of different speeds[edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (May 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This section may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples. Please improve the
article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See
Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (May 2014)

Main article: Orders of magnitude (speed)

Speed m/s ft/s km/h mph Notes

Approximate rate 4 cm/year. Varies depending on
0.00000001 0.00000003 0.00000004 0.00000002
of continental drift location.

Speed of a common snail 0.001 0.003 0.004 0.002 1 millimetre per second

A brisk walk 1.7 5.5 6.1 3.8

Varies widely by person, terrain,

A typical road cyclist 4.4 14.4 16 10
bicycle, effort, weather

Fastest kick recorded at 130

milliseconds from floor to target at 1
A fast martial arts kick 7.7 25.2 27.7 17.2
meter distance. Average velocity
speed across kick duration[7]

Usain Bolt's 100 metres world

Sprint runners 12.2 40 43.92 27
record.

Approximate average speed

12.5 41.0 45 28 On flat terrain, will vary
of road cyclists

13.8 45.3 50 30
Typical suburban speed limit
in most of the world

Taipei 101 observatory

16.7 54.8 60.6 37.6 1010 m/min
elevator

Typical rural speed limit 24.6 80.66 88.5 56

British National Speed Limit

26.8 88 96.56 60
(single carriageway)

Minimum sustained speed over 1

Category 1 hurricane 33 108 119 74
minute

Speed limit on a French

36.1 118 130 81
autoroute

Highest recorded human- Sam Whittingham in a recumbent

37.02 121.5 133.2 82.8
powered speed bicycle[8]

Muzzle velocity of
90 295 320 200
a paintball marker
Cruising speed of a Boeing Mach 0.85 at 35000 ft (10668 m)
255 836 917 570
747-8passenger jet altitude

The official land speed

341.1 1119.1 1227.98 763
record

The speed of sound in dry

Mach 1 by definition. 20 °C =
air at sea-level pressure and 343 1125 1235 768
293.15 kelvins.
20 °C

Muzzle velocity of The 7.62×39mm round is a

710 2330 2600 1600
a 7.62x39mm cartridge rifle cartridge of Soviet origin

Official flight airspeed

record for jet engined 980 3215 3530 2194 Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
aircraft

Space shuttle on re-entry 7800 25600 28000 17,500

Escape velocity on Earth 11200 36700 40000 25000 11.2 km·s−1

17000 55800 61200 38000 Fastest heliocentric recession

Voyager 1 relative velocity
speed of any humanmade
to the Sun in 2013 object.[9](11 mi/s)

Average orbital speed of

29783 97713 107218 66623
planet Eartharound the Sun

Recognized as the fastest speed

The fastest recorded speed
70,220 230,381 252,792 157,078 achieved by a man-made spacecraft,
of the Helios probes.
achieved in solar orbit.

Speed of Exactly 299792458 m/s, by

299792458 983571056 1079252848 670616629
light in vacuum (symbol c) definition of the metre

Psychology[edit]
According to Jean Piaget, the intuition for the notion of speed in humans precedes that of duration, and is based
on the notion of outdistancing.[10] Piaget studied this subject inspired by a question asked to him in 1928 by Albert
Einstein: "In what order do children acquire the concepts of time and speed?"[11] Children's early concept of speed
is based on "overtaking", taking only temporal and spatial orders into consideration, specifically: "A moving object
is judged to be more rapid than another when at a given moment the first object is behind and a moment or so
later ahead of the other object."[12]

See also[edit]
 Air speed
 Land speed
 List of vehicle speed records
 Typical projectile speeds
 Speedometer
 V speeds

References[edit]
Look
up speed or swiftnessin
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

Wikiquote has quotations

related to: Speed

 Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, Matthew Sands. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume I,
Section 8-2. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts (1963). ISBN 0-201-02116-1.

1. Jump up^ Wilson, Edwin Bidwell (1901). Vector analysis: a text-book for the use of students of mathematics and
physics, founded upon the lectures of J. Willard Gibbs. p. 125. This is the likely origin of the speed/velocity
terminology in vector physics.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Elert, Glenn. "Speed & Velocity". The Physics Hypertextbook. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c Hewitt (2006), p. 42
4. Jump up^ "IEC 60050 - Details for IEV number 113-01-33: "speed"". Electropedia: The World's Online
Electrotechnical Vocabulary. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Hewitt (2006), p. 131
6. Jump up^ Hewitt (2006), p. 132
7. Jump up^ http://www.kickspeed.com.au/Improve-measure-kicking-speed.html
8. Jump up^ http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2009/results.htm
9. Jump up^ Darling, David. "Fastest Spacecraft". Retrieved August 19, 2013.
10. Jump up^ Jean Piaget, Psychology and Epistemology: Towards a Theory of Knowledge, The Viking Press, pp. 82–
83 and pp. 110–112, 1973. SBN 670-00362-x
11. Jump up^ Siegler, Robert S.; Richards, D. Dean (1979). "Development of Time, Speed, and Distance
Concepts" (PDF). Developmental Psychology. 15 (3): 288–298. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.15.3.288.
12. Jump up^ Rod Parker-Rees and Jenny William, eds. (2006). Early Years Education: Histories and Traditions,
Volume 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 164.
 [show]

Kinematics

[show]

Classical mechanics SI units

Categories:
 Physical quantities
 Velocity
Navigation menu

 Not logged in

 Talk

 Contributions

 Create account

 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Search
Go

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
In other projects
 Wikiquote
 Languages
 ‫العربية‬
 Español
 हिन्दी
 Bahasa Indonesia
 Bahasa Melayu
 Русский
 Tagalog
 Winaray
 中文
53 more
Edit links

 This page was last edited on 22 February 2018, at 04:29.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to
the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Developers

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view

 Enable previews


  chaos
 eworld
 facts
 get bent
 physics

The Physics
Hypertextbook
Opus in profectus
 … displacement
 velocity
 acceleration …

Speed & Velocity

  discussion
 summary
 practice
 problems
 resources

Discussion
speed
What's the difference between two identical objects traveling at different speeds? Nearly everyone knows that the one moving faster
(the one with the greater speed) will go farther than the one moving slower in the same amount of time. Either that or they'll tell you
that the one moving faster will get where it's going sooner than the slower one. Whatever speed is, it involves both distance and time.
"Faster" means either "farther" (greater distance) or "sooner" (less time).

Doubling one's speed would mean doubling one's distance traveled in a given amount of time. Doubling one's speed would also mean
halving the time required to travel a given distance. If you know a little about mathematics, these statements are meaningful and
useful. (The symbol v is used for speed because of the association between speed and velocity, which will be discussed shortly.)
 Speed is directly proportional to distance when time is constant: v ∝ s (t constant)
 Speed is inversely proportional to time when distance is constant: v ∝ ⅟t (s constant)

Combining these two rules together gives the definition of speed in symbolic form.

v = s (Note: this is not the final definition.)

 t

Don't like symbols? Well then, here's another way to define speed. Speed is the rate of change of distance with time.

In order to calculate the speed of an object we must know how far it's gone and how long it took to get there. "Farther" and "sooner"
correspond to "faster". Let's say you drove a car from New York to Boston. The distance by road is roughly 300 km (200 miles). If the
trip takes four hours, what was your speed? Applying the formula above gives…

300 km
s
v= ≈ = 75 km/h
t 4 hour

This is the answer the equation gives us, but how right is it? Was 75 kph the speed of the car? Yes, of course it was… Well, maybe, I
guess… No, it couldn't have been the speed. Unless you live in a world where cars have some kind of exceptional cruise control and
traffic flows in some ideal manner, your speed during this hypothetical journey must certainly have varied. Thus, the number
calculated above is not the speed of the car, it's the average speed for the entire journey. In order to emphasize this point, the equation
is sometimes modified as follows…
Δs
v̅ =
Δt

The bar over the v indicates an average or a mean and the Δ (delta) symbols indicate a change. Read it as " vee bar is delta vee over
delta tee". This is the quantity we calculated for our hypothetical trip.
In contrast, a car's speedometer shows its instantaneous speed, that is, the speed determined over a very small interval of time — an
instant. Ideally this interval should be as close to zero as possible, but in reality we are limited by the sensitivity of our measuring
devices. Mentally, however, it is possible imagine calculating average speed over ever smaller time intervals until we have effectively
calculated instantaneous speed. This idea is written symbolically as…
lim Δs ds
v= =
Δt → 0 Δt dt
…or, in the language of calculus speed is the first derivative of distance with respect to time.
If you haven't dealt with calculus, don't sweat this definition too much. There are other, simpler ways to find the instantaneous speed
of a moving object. On a distance-time graph, speed corresponds to slope and thus the instantaneous speed of an object with non-
constant speed can be found from the slope of a line tangent to its curve. We'll deal with this later in this book.

velocity
In order to calculate the speed of an object we need to know how far it's gone and how long it took to get there. A wise person would
then ask…

What do you mean by how far? Do you want the distance or the displacement?

A wise person, Once upon a time

Your choice of answer to this question determines what you calculate — speed or velocity.

 Average speed is the rate of change of distance with time.

 Average velocity is the rate of change of displacement with time.

And for the calculus people out there…

 Instantaneous speed is the first derivative of distance with respect to time.

 Instantaneous velocity is the first derivative of displacement with respect to time.
Speed and velocity are related in much the same way that distance and displacement are related. Speed is a scalar and velocity is a
vector. Speed gets the symbol v (italic) and velocity gets the symbol v (boldface).
Δs
average v̅ =
speed Δt
 lim Δs ds
instantaneous v = =
speed
Δt → 0 Δt dt
Δr
average v̅ =
velocity Δt

lim Δr dr
instantaneous v = =
velocity
Δt → 0 Δt dt

Displacement is measured along the shortest path between two points and its magnitude is always less than or equal to the distance.
The magnitude of displacement approaches distance as distance approaches zero. That is, distance and displacement are effectively the
same (have the same magnitude) when the interval examined is "small". Since speed is based on distance and velocity is based on
displacement, these two quantities are effectively the same (have the same magnitude) when the time interval is "small" or, in the
language of calculus, the magnitude of an object's average velocity approaches its average speed as the time interval approaches zero.

Δt → 0 ⇒ v̅ → |v̅|

The instantaneous speed of an object is the magnitude of its instantaneous velocity.

v = |v|

Speed tells you how fast. Velocity tells you how fast and in what direction.

units
Speed and velocity are both measured using the same units. The SI unit of distance and displacement is the meter. The SI unit of time
is the second. The SI unit of speed and velocity is the ratio of two — the meter per second.
⎡m m⎤
=
⎣s s⎦

This unit is only rarely used outside scientific and academic circles. Most people on this planet measure speeds in kilometer per
hour (km/h or sometimes kph). The United States is an exception in that we use the older mile per hour (mi/h or mph). Let's determine
the conversion factors so that we can relate speeds measured in m/s with the more familiar units.
1 km 1,000 m 1 hour
1 kph =
1 hour 1 km 3,600 s

1 kph = 0.2777… m/s ≈ ¼ m/s

1 mile 1,609 m 1 hour

1 mph =
1 hour 1 mile 3,600 s

1 mph = 0.4469… m/s ≈ ½ m/s

The decimal values are accurate to four significant digits, but the fractional values should only be considered rules of thumb (1 mph is
really more like 4⁄10 m/s than ½ m/s).

The ratio of any unit of distance to any unit of time is a unit of speed.

 The speeds of ships, planes, and rockets are often stated in knots. One knot is one nautical mile per hour — a nautical mile being 1,852 m or
6,076 feet. NASA still reports the speed of its rockets in knots and their downrange distance in nautical miles. One knot is approximately
0.5144 m/s.
 The slowest speeds are measured over the longest time periods. The continental plates creep across the surface of the Earth at the geologically
slow rate of 1–10 cm/year or 1–10 m/century — about the same speed that fingernails and hair grow.
 Audio cassette tape travels at 1⅞ inches per second (ips). When magnetic tape was first invented, it was spooled on to open reels like movie
film. These early reel-to-reel tape recorders ran the tape through at 15 ips. Later models could also record at half this speed (7½ ips) and then
half of that (3¾ ips) and then some at half of that (1⅞ ips). When the audio cassette standard was being formulated, it was decided that the last
of these values would be sufficient for the new medium. One inch per second is exactly 0.0254 m/s by definition.

Sometimes, the speed of an object is described relative to the speed of something else; preferably some physical phenomena.

 Aerodynamics is the study of moving air and how objects interact with it. In this field, the speed of an object is often measured relative to
the speed of sound. This ratio is known as the Mach number. The speed of sound is roughly 295 m/s (660 mph) at the altitude at which
commercial jet aircraft normally fly. The now decommissioned British Airways and Air France supersonic Concorde cruised at 600 m/s
(1340 mph). Simple division shows that this speed is roughly twice the speed of sound or Mach 2.0, which is exceptionally fast. A Boeing
777, in comparison, cruises at 248 m/s (555 mph) or Mach 0.8, which is still pretty fast.
 The speed of light in a vacuum is defined in the SI system to be 299,792,458 m/s (about a billion km/h). This is usually stated with a more
reasonable precision as 3.00 × 108 m/s. The speed of light in a vacuum is assigned the symbol c (italic) when used in an equation and c
(roman) when used as a unit. The speed of light in a vacuum is a universal limit, so real objects always move slower than c. It is used
frequently in particle physics and the astronomy of distant objects. The most distant observed objects are quasars; short for "quasi-stellar radio
objects". They are visually similar to stars (the prefix quasi means resembling) but emit far more energy than any star possibly could. They lie
at the edges of the observable universe and are rushing away from us at incredible speeds. The most distant quasars are moving away from us
at nearly 0.9 c. By the way, the symbol c was chosen not because the speed of light is a universal constant (which it is) but because it is the
first letter of the Latin word for swiftness — celeritas.
m/s km/h device, event, phenomena, process

10−9 ~ 10−8 continental plates, hair growth, fingernail growth

10−4 human sperm cells

10−3 snails
0.013 0.045 ketchup pouring from a bottle

10−1 sloths, tortoises, turtles

0.5–1.3 1.9–4.6 cockroaches

1 3.6 nerve impulses, unmyelinated cells

1 3.6 ocean currents

1.14 4.10 manatees

1.3 4.8 human, typical walking pace

2.391 8.608 fastest human: swimming (César Cielo)

8 30 maximum comfortable elevator speed

10 40 dolphins, porpoises, whales

10 40 falling raindrops

10.453 37.631 fastest human: running (Usain Bolt)

 12 43 stadium wave

14.693 52.894 fastest human: ice skating (Jeremy Wotherspoon)

12 44 champagne cork

20 70 rabbits, hares, horses, greyhounds, tuna, sharks

30 100 typical freeway speed limit

33 118 cheetahs

37.161 133.78 fastest human: cycling (Sebastiaan Bowier)

40 140 falling hailstones

33–83 120–300 hurricane, maximum sustained wind speed

30–90 105–330 tornado, maximum sustained wind speed

46.98 169.1 fastest human: baseball pitch (Aroldis Chapman)

55 200 typical terminal velocity of a skydiver

69.8325 251.397 fastest human: skiing (Simone Origone)

73.06 263 fastest human: tennis serve (Sam Groth)

80 290 peregrine falcon in a dive

83 295 very fast golf ball

100 360 nerve impulses, myelinated cells

113.2 407.5 maximum surface wind gust (Barrow Island, Australia)

120.92 435.31 fastest street-legal car (Hennessey Venom GT)

142.89 511.11 fastest ship (Spirit of Australia)

159.7 574.8 fastest train (Train à Grande Vitesse)

168.249 605.697 fastest motorcycle (Top Oil/Ack Attack)

180–1200 650–4,400 bullets

200 700 tsunami

 250 900 commercial jet airplane

331 1,190 speed of sound in air, STP

340 1,225 speed of sound in air, sea level

341.4031 1,229.051 fastest experimental car (Thrust SSC)

343 1,235 speed of sound in air, room temperature

377.1 1,357.6 fastest human: sydiving (Felix Baumgartner)

980.433 3,529.56 fastest airplane (SR-71 Blackbird)

1,500 5,400 speed of sound in water

2,000 6,000 seismic waves

6,900 25,000 detonation velocity of TNT

8,000 29,000 space shuttle in orbit

11,171 40,216 fastest manned spacecraft (Apollo 10)

 11,180 40,250 escape velocity

14,740 53,064 New Horizons space probe

15,497 55,789 Voyager 2 space probe

17,027 61,297 Voyager 1 space probe

29,790 107,200 earth in orbit

67,042 241,350 fastest unmanned spacecraft (Helios 2)

220,000 790,000 sun moving through the milky way

400,000 1,440,000 solar wind near earth

600,000 2,200,000 milky way through the local super group

60,000,000 216,000,000 Project Starshot, proposed interstellar space probe

124,000,000 446,000,000 speed of light in diamond

225,000,000 810,000,000 speed of light in water

 299,792,369 1,079,252,530 protons and antiprotons in the Tevatron, Fermilab

299,792,455 1,079,252,840 protons in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

299,792,458 1,079,252,850 speed of light in a vacuum

Selected speeds (slowest to fastest)

 discussion
 summary
 practice
 problems
 resources

Speed & Velocity

 … displacement
 velocity
 acceleration …

The Physics Hypertextbook

©1998–2018 Glenn Elert
Author, Illustrator, Webmaster

No condition is permanent.
1. mechanics
1. kinematics
1. motion
2. distance & displacement
3. speed & velocity
 4. acceleration
5. equations of motion
6. falling bodies
7. graphs of motion
8. kinematics & calculus
9. kinematics in two dimensions
10. projectiles
11. parametric equations
2. dynamics i: force
1. forces
2. force & mass
3. action-reaction
4. weight
5. dynamics & statics
6. friction
7. equilibrium
8. forces in two dimensions
9. centripetal force
10. frames of reference
3. energy
1. work
2. energy
3. kinetic energy
4. potential energy
5. conservation of energy
6. power
7. simple machines
4. dynamics ii: momentum
1. impulse & momentum
2. conservation of momentum
3. momentum & energy
 4. momentum in two dimensions
5. rotational motion
1. rotational kinematics
2. rotational inertia
3. rotational dynamics
4. rotational equilibrium
5. angular momentum
6. rotational energy
7. rolling
8. rotation in two dimensions
9. coriolis force
6. planetary motion
1. geocentrism
2. heliocentrism
3. universal gravitation
4. orbital mechanics i
5. gravitational potential energy
6. orbital mechanics ii
7. gravity of extended bodies
7. periodic motion
1. springs
2. simple harmonic oscillator
3. pendulums
4. resonance
5. elasticity
8. fluids
1. density
2. pressure
3. buoyancy
4. fluid flow
5. viscosity
 6. aerodynamic drag
7. flow regimes
2. thermal physics
1. heat & temperature
1. temperature
2. thermal expansion
3. the atomic nature of matter
4. gas laws
5. kinetic-molecular theory
6. phases
2. calorimetry
1. sensible heat
2. latent heat
3. chemical potential energy
3. heat transfer
1. conduction
2. convection
3. radiation
4. thermodynamics
1. heat & work
2. pressure-volume diagrams
3. engines
4. refrigerators
5. energy & entropy
6. absolute zero
3. waves & optics
1. wave phenomena
1. the nature of waves
2. interference & superposition
3. interfaces & barriers
2. sound
 1. the nature of sound
2. intensity
3. doppler effect (sound)
4. shock waves
5. diffraction & interference (sound)
6. standing waves
7. beats
8. music & noise
3. physical optics
1. the nature of light
2. polarization
3. doppler effect (light)
4. cerenkov radiation
5. diffraction & interference (light)
6. thin film interference
7. color
4. geometric optics
1. reflection
2. refraction
3. spherical mirrors
4. spherical lenses
5. aberration
4. electricity & magnetism
1. electrostatics
1. electric charge
2. coulomb's law
3. electric field
4. electric potential
5. gauss's law
6. conductors
2. electrostatic applications
 1. capacitors
2. dielectrics
3. batteries
3. electric current
1. electric current
2. electric resistance
3. electric power
4. dc circuits
1. resistors in circuits
2. batteries in circuits
3. capacitors in circuits
4. kirchhoff's rules
5. magnetostatics
1. magnetism
2. electromagnetism
3. ampère's law
4. electromagnetic force
6. magnetodynamics
1. electromagnetic induction
2. faraday's law
3. lenz' law
4. inductance
7. ac circuits
1. alternating current
2. rc circuits
3. rl circuits
4. lc circuits
8. electromagnetic waves
1. maxwell's equations
2. electromagnetic waves
3. electromagnetic spectrum
5. modern physics
1. relativity
1. space-time
2. mass-energy
3. general relativity
2. quanta
1. blackbody radiation
2. photoelectric effect
3. x-rays
4. antimatter
3. wave mechanics
1. matter waves
2. atomic models
3. semiconductors
4. condensed matter
4. nuclear physics
1. isotopes
2. radioactive decay
3. half life
4. binding energy
5. fission
6. fusion
7. nucleosynthesis
8. nuclear weapons
9. radiobiology
5. particle physics
1. quantum electrodynamics
2. quantum chromodynamics
3. quantum flavordynamics
4. the standard model
5. beyond the standard model
6. foundations
1. units
1. international system of units
2. gaussian system of units
3. british-american system of units
4. miscellaneous units
5. time
6. unit conversion
2. measurement
1. significant digits
2. order of magnitude
3. graphs
1. graphical representation of data
2. linear regression
3. curve fitting
4. calculus
4. vectors
1. trigonometry
2. vector addition & subtraction
3. vector resolution & components
4. vector multiplication
5. reference
1. special symbols
2. frequently used equations
3. physical constants
4. astronomical data
5. periodic table of the elements
6. people in physics
7. back matter
1. preface
1. about this book
2. contact the author
1. glennelert.us
2. google+
3. twitter
4. youtube
3. affiliated websites
1. hypertextbook.com
2. midwoodscience.org
3. toddcam.com
4. virtualempire.com



 Search

 Physics Tutorial
o 1-D Kinematics
o Newton's Laws
o Vectors - Motion and Forces in Two Dimensions
o Momentum and Its Conservation
o Work, Energy, and Power
 o Circular Motion and Satellite Motion
o Thermal Physics
o Static Electricity
o Current Electricity
o Waves
o Sound Waves and Music
o Light Waves and Color
o Reflection and the Ray Model of Light
o Refraction and the Ray Model of Light
 Physics Interactives
 Concept Builders
 Shockwave Studios
 Multimedia Studios
 The Review Session
 Minds On Physics the App
 Minds On Physics - Legacy
 The Calculator Pad
 Physics Help
 ACT Test Center
 Curriculum Corner
 Question Bank
 NGSS Corner
 Teacher Toolkits
 Reasoning Center
 The Laboratory
 The Photo Gallery
 Share The News
The Physics Classroom » Physics Tutorial » 1-D Kinematics » Speed and Velocity

1-D Kinematics - Lesson 1 - Describing Motion with Words

Speed and Velocity

 Introduction
 Scalars and Vectors
  Distance and Displacement
 Speed and Velocity
 Acceleration
Just as distance and displacement have distinctly different meanings (despite their similarities), so do speed and
velocity. Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving." Speed can be thought of as the rate at
which an object covers distance. A fast-moving object has a high speed and covers a relatively large distance in a short
amount of time. Contrast this to a slow-moving object that has a low speed; it covers a relatively small amount of
distance in the same amount of time. An object with no movement at all has a zero speed.

Velocity as a Vector Quantity

Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." Imagine a person moving
rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position. While this might result in
a frenzy of activity, it would result in a zero velocity. Because the person always returns to the original position, the
motion would never result in a change in position. Since velocity is defined as the rate at which the position changes, this
motion results in zero velocity. If a person in motion wishes to maximize their velocity, then that person must make every
effort to maximize the amount that they are displaced from their original position. Every step must go into moving that
person further from where he or she started. For certain, the person should never change directions and begin to return
to the starting position.
Velocity is a vector quantity. As such, velocity is direction aware. When evaluating the velocity of an object, one must
keep track of direction. It would not be enough to say that an object has a velocity of 55 mi/hr. One must include
direction information in order to fully describe the velocity of the object. For instance, you must describe an object's
velocity as being 55 mi/hr, east. This is one of the essential differences between speed and velocity. Speed is a scalar
quantity and does not keep track of direction; velocity is a vector quantity and is direction aware.

Determining the Direction of the Velocity Vector

The task of describing the direction of the velocity vector is easy. The direction of the velocity vector is
simply the same as the direction that an object is moving. It would not matter whether the object is
speeding up or slowing down. If an object is moving rightwards, then its velocity is described as being rightwards. If an
object is moving downwards, then its velocity is described as being downwards. So an airplane moving towards the west
with a speed of 300 mi/hr has a velocity of 300 mi/hr, west. Note that speed has no direction (it is a scalar) and the
velocity at any instant is simply the speed value with a direction.

Calculating Average Speed and Average Velocity

As an object moves, it often undergoes changes in speed. For example, during an average trip to school, there are many
changes in speed. Rather than the speed-o-meter maintaining a steady reading, the needle constantly moves up and
down to reflect the stopping and starting and the accelerating and decelerating. One instant, the car may be moving at
50 mi/hr and another instant, it might be stopped (i.e., 0 mi/hr). Yet during the trip to school the person might average
32 mi/hr. The average speed during an entire motion can be thought of as the average of all speedometer readings. If
the speedometer readings could be collected at 1-second intervals (or 0.1-second intervals or ... ) and then averaged
together, the average speed could be determined. Now that would be a lot of work. And fortunately, there is a shortcut.
Read on.

The average speed during the course of a motion is often computed using the following formula:

In contrast, the average velocity is often computed using this formula

Let's begin implementing our understanding of these formulas with the following problem:

Q: While on vacation, Lisa Carr traveled a total distance of 440 miles. Her trip took 8 hours. What was her
average speed?
To compute her average speed, we simply divide the distance of travel by the time of travel.

That was easy! Lisa Carr averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour. She may not have been traveling at a constant speed of
55 mi/hr. She undoubtedly, was stopped at some instant in time (perhaps for a bathroom break or for lunch) and she
probably was going 65 mi/hr at other instants in time. Yet, she averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour. The above
formula represents a shortcut method of determining the average speed of an object.

Average Speed versus Instantaneous Speed

Since a moving object often changes its speed during its motion, it is common to distinguish between the
average speed and the instantaneous speed. The distinction is as follows.
 Instantaneous Speed - the speed at any given instant in time.
 Average Speed - the average of all instantaneous speeds; found simply by a distance/time
ratio.
You might think of the instantaneous speed as the speed that the speedometer reads at any given instant in time and the
average speed as the average of all the speedometer readings during the course of the trip. Since the task of averaging
speedometer readings would be quite complicated (and maybe even dangerous), the average speed is more commonly
calculated as the distance/time ratio.
Moving objects don't always travel with erratic and changing speeds. Occasionally, an object will move at a steady rate
with a constant speed. That is, the object will cover the same distance every regular interval of time. For instance, a
cross-country runner might be running with a constant speed of 6 m/s in a straight line for several minutes. If her speed
is constant, then the distance traveled every second is the same. The runner would cover a distance of 6 meters every
second. If we could measure her position (distance from an arbitrary starting point) each second, then we would note
that the position would be changing by 6 meters each second. This would be in stark contrast to an object that is
changing its speed. An object with a changing speed would be moving a different distance each second. The data tables
below depict objects with constant and changing speed.

Now let's consider the motion of that physics teacher again. The physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters South, 4
meters West, and finally 2 meters North. The entire motion lasted for 24 seconds. Determine the average speed and the
average velocity.

The physics teacher walked a distance of 12 meters in 24 seconds; thus, her average speed was 0.50 m/s. However,
since her displacement is 0 meters, her average velocity is 0 m/s. Remember that the displacement refers to the change
in position and the velocity is based upon this position change. In this case of the teacher's motion, there is a position
change of 0 meters and thus an average velocity of 0 m/s.
Here is another example similar to what was seen before in the discussion of distance and displacement. The diagram
below shows the position of a cross-country skier at various times. At each of the indicated times, the skier turns around
and reverses the direction of travel. In other words, the skier moves from A to B to C to D.

Use the diagram to determine the average speed and the average velocity of the skier during these three minutes.
When finished, click the button to view the answer.

See Answer

As a last example, consider a football coach pacing back and forth along the sidelines. The diagram below shows several
of coach's positions at various times. At each marked position, the coach makes a "U-turn" and moves in the opposite
direction. In other words, the coach moves from position A to B to C to D.

What is the coach's average speed and average velocity? When finished, click the button to view the answer.
 See Answer

In conclusion, speed and velocity are kinematic quantities that have distinctly different definitions. Speed, being a scalar
quantity, is the rate at which an object covers distance. The average speed is the distance (a scalar quantity) per time
ratio. Speed is ignorant of direction. On the other hand, velocity is a vector quantity; it is direction-aware. Velocity is the
rate at which the position changes. The average velocity is the displacement or position change (a vector quantity) per
time ratio.

We Would Like to Suggest ...

Sometimes it isn't enough to just read about it. You have to interact with it! And that's

exactly what you do when you use one of The Physics Classroom's Interactives. We would like to suggest that you
combine the reading of this page with the use of our Name That Motion Interactive. It is found in the Physics Interactive
section and allows a learner to apply concepts of speed, velocity and acceleration.

Visit Name That Motion.

Next Section:
 Acceleration
Jump To Next Lesson:
  Introduction to Diagrams
2K

Follow Us
 home
 about
 privacy
© 1996-2018 The Physics Classroom, All rights reserved.


Search
 Physics Tutorial
o 1-D Kinematics
o Newton's Laws
o Vectors - Motion and Forces in Two Dimensions
o Momentum and Its Conservation
o Work, Energy, and Power
o Circular Motion and Satellite Motion
o Thermal Physics
 o Static Electricity
o Current Electricity
o Waves
o Sound Waves and Music
o Light Waves and Color
o Reflection and the Ray Model of Light
o Refraction and the Ray Model of Light
 Physics Interactives
 Concept Builders
 Shockwave Studios
 Multimedia Studios
 The Review Session
 Minds On Physics the App
 Minds On Physics - Legacy
 The Calculator Pad
 Physics Help
 ACT Test Center
 Curriculum Corner
 Question Bank
 NGSS Corner
 Teacher Toolkits
 Reasoning Center
 The Laboratory
 The Photo Gallery
 Share The News
The Physics Classroom » Physics Tutorial » 1-D Kinematics » Speed and Velocity

1-D Kinematics - Lesson 1 - Describing Motion with Words

Speed and Velocity

 Introduction
 Scalars and Vectors
 Distance and Displacement
 Speed and Velocity
  Acceleration
Just as distance and displacement have distinctly different meanings (despite their similarities), so do speed and
velocity. Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving." Speed can be thought of as the rate at
which an object covers distance. A fast-moving object has a high speed and covers a relatively large distance in a short
amount of time. Contrast this to a slow-moving object that has a low speed; it covers a relatively small amount of
distance in the same amount of time. An object with no movement at all has a zero speed.

Velocity as a Vector Quantity

Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." Imagine a person moving
rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position. While this might result in
a frenzy of activity, it would result in a zero velocity. Because the person always returns to the original position, the
motion would never result in a change in position. Since velocity is defined as the rate at which the position changes, this
motion results in zero velocity. If a person in motion wishes to maximize their velocity, then that person must make every
effort to maximize the amount that they are displaced from their original position. Every step must go into moving that
person further from where he or she started. For certain, the person should never change directions and begin to return
to the starting position.
Velocity is a vector quantity. As such, velocity is direction aware. When evaluating the velocity of an object, one must
keep track of direction. It would not be enough to say that an object has a velocity of 55 mi/hr. One must include
direction information in order to fully describe the velocity of the object. For instance, you must describe an object's
velocity as being 55 mi/hr, east. This is one of the essential differences between speed and velocity. Speed is a scalar
quantity and does not keep track of direction; velocity is a vector quantity and is direction aware.

Determining the Direction of the Velocity Vector

The task of describing the direction of the velocity vector is easy. The direction of the velocity vector is
simply the same as the direction that an object is moving. It would not matter whether the object is
speeding up or slowing down. If an object is moving rightwards, then its velocity is described as being
rightwards. If an object is moving downwards, then its velocity is described as being downwards. So an
airplane moving towards the west with a speed of 300 mi/hr has a velocity of 300 mi/hr, west. Note that speed has no
direction (it is a scalar) and the velocity at any instant is simply the speed value with a direction.

Calculating Average Speed and Average Velocity

As an object moves, it often undergoes changes in speed. For example, during an average trip to school, there are many
changes in speed. Rather than the speed-o-meter maintaining a steady reading, the needle constantly moves up and
down to reflect the stopping and starting and the accelerating and decelerating. One instant, the car may be moving at
50 mi/hr and another instant, it might be stopped (i.e., 0 mi/hr). Yet during the trip to school the person might average
32 mi/hr. The average speed during an entire motion can be thought of as the average of all speedometer readings. If
the speedometer readings could be collected at 1-second intervals (or 0.1-second intervals or ... ) and then averaged
together, the average speed could be determined. Now that would be a lot of work. And fortunately, there is a shortcut.
Read on.

The average speed during the course of a motion is often computed using the following formula:

In contrast, the average velocity is often computed using this formula

Let's begin implementing our understanding of these formulas with the following problem:
Q: While on vacation, Lisa Carr traveled a total distance of 440 miles. Her trip took 8 hours. What was her
average speed?
To compute her average speed, we simply divide the distance of travel by the time of travel.

That was easy! Lisa Carr averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour. She may not have been traveling at a constant speed of
55 mi/hr. She undoubtedly, was stopped at some instant in time (perhaps for a bathroom break or for lunch) and she
probably was going 65 mi/hr at other instants in time. Yet, she averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour. The above
formula represents a shortcut method of determining the average speed of an object.

Average Speed versus Instantaneous Speed

Since a moving object often changes its speed during its motion, it is common to distinguish between the
average speed and the instantaneous speed. The distinction is as follows.
 Instantaneous Speed - the speed at any given instant in time.
 Average Speed - the average of all instantaneous speeds; found simply by a distance/time
ratio.
You might think of the instantaneous speed as the speed that the speedometer reads at any given instant in time and the
average speed as the average of all the speedometer readings during the course of the trip. Since the task of averaging
speedometer readings would be quite complicated (and maybe even dangerous), the average speed is more commonly
calculated as the distance/time ratio.
Moving objects don't always travel with erratic and changing speeds. Occasionally, an object will move at a steady rate
with a constant speed. That is, the object will cover the same distance every regular interval of time. For instance, a
cross-country runner might be running with a constant speed of 6 m/s in a straight line for several minutes. If her speed
is constant, then the distance traveled every second is the same. The runner would cover a distance of 6 meters every
second. If we could measure her position (distance from an arbitrary starting point) each second, then we would note
that the position would be changing by 6 meters each second. This would be in stark contrast to an object that is
changing its speed. An object with a changing speed would be moving a different distance each second. The data tables
below depict objects with constant and changing speed.

Now let's consider the motion of that physics teacher again. The physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters South, 4
meters West, and finally 2 meters North. The entire motion lasted for 24 seconds. Determine the average speed and the
average velocity.

The physics teacher walked a distance of 12 meters in 24 seconds; thus, her average speed was 0.50 m/s. However,
since her displacement is 0 meters, her average velocity is 0 m/s. Remember that the displacement refers to the change
in position and the velocity is based upon this position change. In this case of the teacher's motion, there is a position
change of 0 meters and thus an average velocity of 0 m/s.
Here is another example similar to what was seen before in the discussion of distance and displacement. The diagram
below shows the position of a cross-country skier at various times. At each of the indicated times, the skier turns around
and reverses the direction of travel. In other words, the skier moves from A to B to C to D.

Use the diagram to determine the average speed and the average velocity of the skier during these three minutes.
When finished, click the button to view the answer.

See Answer

As a last example, consider a football coach pacing back and forth along the sidelines. The diagram below shows several
of coach's positions at various times. At each marked position, the coach makes a "U-turn" and moves in the opposite
direction. In other words, the coach moves from position A to B to C to D.

What is the coach's average speed and average velocity? When finished, click the button to view the answer.

See Answer
In conclusion, speed and velocity are kinematic quantities that have distinctly different definitions. Speed, being a scalar
quantity, is the rate at which an object covers distance. The average speed is the distance (a scalar quantity) per time
ratio. Speed is ignorant of direction. On the other hand, velocity is a vector quantity; it is direction-aware. Velocity is the
rate at which the position changes. The average velocity is the displacement or position change (a vector quantity) per
time ratio.

We Would Like to Suggest ...

Sometimes it isn't enough to just read about it. You have to interact with it! And that's

exactly what you do when you use one of The Physics Classroom's Interactives. We would like to suggest that you
combine the reading of this page with the use of our Name That Motion Interactive. It is found in the Physics Interactive
section and allows a learner to apply concepts of speed, velocity and acceleration.

Visit Name That Motion.

Next Section:
 Acceleration
Jump To Next Lesson:
 Introduction to Diagrams
2K
 Follow Us
 home
 about
 privacy
© 1996-2018 The Physics Classroom, All rights reserved.
Velocity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about velocity in physics. For other uses, see Velocity (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable
sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template
message)

Velocity

As a change of direction occurs while the racing cars turn on the

curved track, their velocity is not constant.
Common symbols v, v

SI unit m/s

Part of a series of articles about

Classical mechanics

Second law of motion

 History
 Timeline

Branches[show]

Fundamentals[hide]

 Acceleration
 Angular momentum
 Couple
 D'Alembert's principle
 Energy
o kinetic
o potential
  Force
 Frame of reference
 Inertial frame of reference
 Impulse
 Inertia / Moment of inertia
 Mass

Mechanical power
 Mechanical work

Moment
 Momentum
 Space
 Speed
 Time
 Torque
 Velocity
 Virtual work

Formulations[show]

Core topics[show]

Rotation[show]

Scientists[show]

 v
  t
 e

The velocity of an object is the rate of change of its position with respect to a frame of reference, and is a function of time. Velocity is
equivalent to a specification of its speed and direction of motion (e.g. 60 km/h to the north). Velocity is an important concept in kinematics,
the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of bodies.
Velocity is a physical vector quantity; both magnitude and direction are needed to define it. The scalar absolute value (magnitude) of
velocity is called "speed", being a coherent derived unit whose quantity is measured in the SI (metric system) as metres per second(m/s) or
as the SI base unit of (m⋅s−1). For example, "5 metres per second" is a scalar, whereas "5 metres per second east" is a vector. If there is a
change in speed, direction or both, then the object has a changing velocity and is said to be undergoing an acceleration.

Contents
[hide]

 1Constant velocity vs acceleration

 2Distinction between speed and velocity
 3Equation of motion
o 3.1Average velocity
o 3.2Instantaneous velocity
o 3.3Relationship to acceleration
 3.3.1Constant acceleration
o 3.4Quantities that are dependent on velocity
 4Relative velocity
o 4.1Scalar velocities
 5Polar coordinates
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9External links

Constant velocity vs acceleration

To have a constant velocity, an object must have a constant speed in a constant direction. Constant direction constrains the object to
motion in a straight path thus, a constant velocity means motion in a straight line at a constant speed.
For example, a car moving at a constant 20 kilometres per hour in a circular path has a constant speed, but does not have a constant
velocity because its direction changes. Hence, the car is considered to be undergoing an acceleration.

Distinction between speed and velocity

Kinematic quantities of a classical particle: mass m, position r, velocity v, acceleration a.

Speed describes only how fast an object is moving, whereas velocity gives both how fast it is and in which direction the object is moving.[1] If
a car is said to travel at 60 km/h, its speed has been specified. However, if the car is said to move at 60 km/h to the north, its velocity has
now been specified.
The big difference can be noticed when we consider movement around a circle. When something moves in a circular path (at a constant
speed, see above) and returns to its starting point, its average velocity is zero but its average speed is found by dividing
the circumference of the circle by the time taken to move around the circle. This is because the average velocity is calculated by only
considering the displacement between the starting and the end points while the average speed considers only the total distance traveled.

Equation of motion
Main article: Equation of motion

Average velocity
Velocity is defined as the rate of change of position with respect to time, which may also be referred to as the instantaneous velocity to
emphasize the distinction from the average velocity. In some applications the "average velocity" of an object might be needed, that is to
say, the constant velocity that would provide the same resultant displacement as a variable velocity in the same time interval, v(t), over
some time period Δt. Average velocity can be calculated as:
The average velocity is always less than or equal to the average speed of an object. This can be seen by realizing that while distance is
always strictly increasing, displacement can increase or decrease in magnitude as well as change direction.
In terms of a displacement-time (x vs. t) graph, the instantaneous velocity (or, simply, velocity) can be thought of as the slope of the
tangent line to the curve at any point, and the average velocity as the slope of the secant line between two points with t coordinates
equal to the boundaries of the time period for the average velocity.
The average velocity is the same as the velocity averaged over time – that is to say, its time-weighted average, which may be
calculated as the time integral of the velocity:

where we may identify

and

Instantaneous velocity
Example of a velocity vs. time graph, and the relationship between velocity v on the y-axis, acceleration a (the three green tangentlines
represent the values for acceleration at different points along the curve) and displacement s (the yellow area under the curve.)

If we consider v as velocity and x as the displacement (change in position) vector, then we can express the
(instantaneous) velocity of a particle or object, at any particular time t, as the derivative of the position with respect to time:

From this derivative equation, in the one-dimensional case it can be seen that the area under a velocity vs. time
(v vs. t graph) is the displacement, x. In calculus terms, the integral of the velocity function v(t) is the displacement
function x(t). In the figure, this corresponds to the yellow area under the curve labeled s (s being an alternative
notation for displacement).

Since the derivative of the position with respect to time gives the change in position (in metres) divided by the
change in time (in seconds), velocity is measured in metres per second (m/s). Although the concept of an
instantaneous velocity might at first seem counter-intuitive, it may be thought of as the velocity that the object
would continue to travel at if it stopped accelerating at that moment.
 Relationship to acceleration
Although velocity is defined as the rate of change of position, it is often common to start with an expression for an
object's acceleration. As seen by the three green tangent lines in the figure, an object's instantaneous acceleration
at a point in time is the slope of the line tangent to the curve of a v(t) graph at that point. In other words,
acceleration is defined as the derivative of velocity with respect to time:

From there, we can obtain an expression for velocity as the area under an a(t) acceleration vs. time graph. As
above, this is done using the concept of the integral:

Constant acceleration
In the special case of constant acceleration, velocity can be studied using the suvat equations. By
considering a as being equal to some arbitrary constant vector, it is trivial to show that

with v as the velocity at time t and u as the velocity at time t = 0. By combining this equation with the
suvat equation x = ut + at2/2, it is possible to relate the displacement and the average velocity by

.
It is also possible to derive an expression for the velocity independent of time, known as
the Torricelli equation, as follows:

where v = |v| etc.

The above equations are valid for both Newtonian mechanics and special relativity.
Where Newtonian mechanics and special relativity differ is in how different observers
would describe the same situation. In particular, in Newtonian mechanics, all
observers agree on the value of t and the transformation rules for position create a
situation in which all non-accelerating observers would describe the acceleration of
an object with the same values. Neither is true for special relativity. In other words,
only relative velocity can be calculated.
Quantities that are dependent on velocity
The kinetic energy of a moving object is dependent on its velocity and is given by the
equation

ignoring special relativity, where Ek is the kinetic energy and m is the mass.
Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity as it depends on the square of the velocity,
however a related quantity, momentum, is a vector and defined by

In special relativity, the dimensionless Lorentz factor appears frequently, and

is given by

where γ is the Lorentz factor and c is the speed of light.

Escape velocity is the minimum speed a ballistic object needs to escape
from a massive body such as Earth. It represents the kinetic energy that,
when added to the object's gravitational potential energy, (which is
always negative) is equal to zero. The general formula for the escape
velocity of an object at a distance r from the center of a planet with
mass M is

where G is the Gravitational constant and g is the Gravitational

acceleration. The escape velocity from Earth's surface is about
11 200 m/s, and is irrespective of the direction of the object. This
makes "escape velocity" somewhat of a misnomer, as the more
correct term would be "escape speed": any object attaining a velocity
of that magnitude, irrespective of atmosphere, will leave the vicinity
of the base body as long as it doesn't intersect with something in its
path.

Relative velocity
Main article: Relative velocity

Relative velocity is a measurement of velocity between two objects

as determined in a single coordinate system. Relative velocity is
fundamental in both classical and modern physics, since many
systems in physics deal with the relative motion of two or more
particles. In Newtonian mechanics, the relative velocity is
independent of the chosen inertial reference frame. This is not the
case anymore with special relativity in which velocities depend on the
choice of reference frame.
If an object A is moving with velocity vector v and an object B with
velocity vector w, then the velocity of object A relative to object B is
defined as the difference of the two velocity vectors:

Similarly the relative velocity of object B moving with velocity w,

relative to object A moving with velocity v is:

Usually the inertial frame is chosen in which the latter of the

two mentioned objects is in rest.
Scalar velocities
In the one-dimensional case,[2] the velocities are scalars and
the equation is either:
, if the two objects are moving in opposite directions, or:

, if the two objects are moving in the same direction.

Polar coordinates
In polar coordinates, a two-dimensional velocity is
described by a radial velocity, defined as the
component of velocity away from or toward the
origin (also known as velocity made good), and
an angular velocity, which is the rate of rotation
about the origin (with positive quantities
representing counter-clockwise rotation and
negative quantities representing clockwise rotation,
in a right-handed coordinate system).
The radial and angular velocities can be derived
from the Cartesian velocity and displacement
vectors by decomposing the velocity vector into
radial and transverse components.
The transverse velocity is the component of velocity
along a circle centered at the origin.

where

is the transverse velocity

is the radial velocity.

The magnitude of the radial velocity is
the dot product of the velocity vector
and the unit vector in the direction of the
displacement.
 where

is displacement.
The magnitude of the
transverse velocity is that of
the cross product of the unit
vector in the direction of the
displacement and the velocity
vector. It is also the product of

the angular speed and

the magnitude of the
displacement.

such that

Angular momentum in
scalar form is the mass
times the distance to
the origin times the
transverse velocity, or
equivalently, the mass
times the distance
squared times the
angular speed. The
sign convention for
angular momentum is
the same as that for
angular velocity.
 where

is mass

The
expression

is
known
as moment
of inertia. If
forces are
in the
radial
direction
only with
an inverse
square
dependenc
e, as in the
case of a
gravitation
al orbit,
angular
momentum
is
constant,
and
transverse
speed is
inversely
proportion
al to the
distance,
angular
speed is
inversely
proportion
al to the
distance
squared,
and the
rate at
which area
is swept
out is
constant.
These
relations
are known
as Kepler's
laws of
planetary
motion.

See
also
 Four-
velocit
y (relat
ivistic
versio
n of
velocit
y
for Min
kowski
spaceti
me)
 Group
velocit
y
 Hyperv
elocity
 Phase
velocit
y
 Proper
velocit
y (in
relativit
y,
using
travele
r time
instea
d of
observ
er
time)
 Rapidit
y (a
versio
n of
velocit
y
additiv
e at
relativi
stic
speed
s)
 Termin
al
velocit
y
 Velocit
y vs.
time
graph

Notes
1. Ju
mp
up
^
Wil
so
n,
Ed
win
Bid
wel
l
(19
01)
.V
ect
or
an
aly
sis:
a
tex
t-
bo
ok
for
the
us
e
of
stu
de
nts
of
ma
the
ma
tics
an
d
ph
ysi
cs,
fou
nd
ed
up
on
the
lec
tur
es
of
J.
Wil
lar
d
Gi
bb
s.
p.
12
5.
Thi
s is
the
like
ly
ori
gin
of
the
sp
ee
d/v
elo
 city
ter
mi
nol
og
y
in
ve
cto
r
ph
ysi
cs.
2. Ju
mp
up
^
Ba
sic
pri
nci
ple

Refere
nces
 Robert
Resnic
k and
Jearl
Walker
, Fund
ament
als of
Physic
s,
Wiley;
7 Sub
edition
 (June
16,
2004).
ISBN 0
-471-
23231-
9.

Extern
al links
Wikimedia Comm
media related to

 physic
sabout
.com,
Speed
and
Velocit
y
 Velocit
y and
Accele
ration
 Introdu
ction
to
Mecha
nisms
(Carne
gie
Mellon
Univer
sity)
 [show]

Kinematics

[show]

Classical mechanics SI units

Categories
:
 Motion
(physics)
 Kinematics
 Velocity
 Temporal
rates
 SI derived
units
Navigati
on menu

 Not logged
in
  Talk

 Contributio
ns

 Create
account

 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 View source
 View history
Search
Go

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured
content
 Current
events
 Random
article
 Donate to
Wikipedia
 Wikipedia
store
Interaction
 Help
 About
Wikipedia
 Community
portal
 Recent
changes
 Contact
page
Tools
 What links
here
 Related
changes
 Upload file
 Special
pages
 Permanent
link
 Page
information
 Wikidata
item
 Cite this
page
Print/expor
t
 Create a
book
 Download as
PDF
 Printable
version
In other
projects
 Wikimedia
Commons
 Languages
 ‫العربية‬
 Español
 हिन्दी
 Bahasa
Indonesia
 Русский
 Tagalog
 ‫اردو‬
 Winaray
 中文
94 more
Edit links

 This page
was last
edited on 3
March 2018,
at 03:49.
 Text is
available
under
the Creative
Commons
Attribution-
ShareAlike
License;
additional
terms may
apply. By
 using this
site, you
agree to
the Terms of
Use and Priv
acy Policy.
Wikipedia® is
a registered
trademark of
the Wikimedi
a Foundation,
Inc., a non-
profit
organization.

 Privacy

policy

 About

Wikipedia

 Disclaimer

 Contact

Wikipedia
 Developer

 Cookie

statement

 Mobile

view

 Enable

previews


 What Is Velocity in Physics?

Search the site GO









o
o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o
o
o
o


o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

o
o
o
Science, Tech, Math › Science

What Is Velocity in Physics?

Velocity Is an Important Concept in Physics
 Share
 Flipboard
 Email
PRINT
Velocity is a measure of distance per unit time. It is a vector quantity, with both magnitude and direction. Mina De La O, Getty Images
 Science
 Physics
o Basics
o Core Theories & Concepts
o Quantum Physics
o Important Physicists
o Thermodynamics
o Cosmology & Astrophysics
 Chemistry
 Biology
 Geology
 Astronomy
 Weather & Climate
by Andrew Zimmerman Jones

Updated July 28, 2017

Velocity is defined as a vector measurement of the rate and direction of motion or, in simpler terms, the rate and direction
of the change in the position of an object. The scalar (absolute value) magnitude of the velocity vector is the speed of the
motion. In calculus terms, velocity is the first derivative of position with respect to time.
How Is Velocity Calculated?

The most common way to calculate the constant velocity of an object moving in a straight line is with the formula:

r=d/t

where

 r is the rate, or speed (sometimes denoted as v, for velocity)

 d is the distance moved
 t is the time it takes to complete the movement

Units of Velocity

The SI (international) units for velocity are m / s (meters per second). But velocity may be expressed in any units of
distance per time. Other units include miles per hour (mph), kilometers per hour (kph), and kilometers per second
(km/s).

Relating Velocity, Speed, and Acceleration

Speed, velocity, and acceleration are all related to each other. Remember:

 Speed is a scalar quantity that indicates the rate of motion distance per time. Its units are length/time.
 Velocity is a vector quantity that indicates distance per time and direction. Like speed, its units are length/time, but direction
is also cited.
 Acceleration is a vector quantity that indicates the rate of change of velocity. It has dimensions of length/time.

Why Does Velocity Matter?

Velocity measures motion starting in one place and heading toward another place.

In other words, we use measures of velocity to determine how quickly we (or anything in motion) will arrive at a
destination from a given location. Measures of velocity allow us to (among other things) create timetables for travel. For
example, if a train leaves Penn Station in New York at 2:00 and we know the velocity at which the train is moving north,
we can predict when it will arrive at South Station in Boston.

Sample Velocity Problem

A physics student drops an egg off an extremely tall building. What is the egg's velocity after 2.60 seconds?

The hardest part about solving for velocity in a physics problem is selecting the right equation. In this case, two equations
may be used to solve the problem.

Using the equation:

d = vI*t + 0.5*a*t2

where d is distance, vI is initial velocity, t is time, a is acceleration (due to gravity, in this case)

d = (0 m/s)*(2.60 s) + 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)(2.60 s)2

d = -33.1 m (negative sign indicates direction downward)

Next, you can plug in this distance value to solve for velocity using the equation:

vf = vi + a*t
where vf is final velocity, vi is initial velocity, a is acceleration, and t is time. Since the egg was dropped and not thrown, the
initial velocity is 0.

vf = 0 + (-9.8 m/s2)(2.60 s)
vf = -25.5 m/s

Although it's common to report velocity as a simple value, remember it's a vector and has direction as well as magnitude.
Usually, moving upward is indicated with a positive sign, and down carries a negative sign.

CITE
Watch Now: How to Find the Velocity of Something

How Speed Is Actually Defined in Physics


 How Terminal Velocity and Free Fall Work


 Acceleration: The Rate of Change of Velocity


 What is Power in Physics?


 How to Understand Momentum in Physics


 What is Vector Mathematics?


 Understand the Physics of Motion in a Straight Line


What is Dimensional Analysis?


 Elastic Collision Occurs When No Energy Is Lost During the Collision


 Twist It: the Meaning of Torque


 Hitting It out of the Park: Learn the Physics of Projectile Motion

Understand and Calculate Moment of Inertia in Physics


 What’s the Definition of Work in Physics?


 Calculate Root Mean Square Velocity of Gas Particles


 What's the Definition of Force in Physics?


 The Physics of Spin in Table Tennis

Learn Something New Every Day

Email AddressSIGN UP

Follow Us




 Science, Tech, Math

 Humanities
 Arts, Music, Recreation
 Resources

 About Us
 Advertise
 Privacy Policy
 Careers
 Contact
 Terms of Use
 The equation
All of the calculations in this section will be worked out using the distance, speed and time equation. An easy way to
remember the distance, speed and time equations is to put the letters into a triangle.

The triangles will help you remember these 3 rules:

 Distance = Speed x Time
 Time = Distance/Speed
 Speed= Distance/Time
On the next page there are some examples to work through. Have paper and a pen handy, draw the distance, speed and time
triangle on your paper, then try the examples.

HOW TO CALCULATE TIME AND

DISTANCE FROM ACCELERATION AND
VELOCITY
RELATED BOOK
Physics I For Dummies, 2nd Edition

By Steven Holzner

In a physics equation, given a constant acceleration and the change in velocity of an object, you
can figure out both the time involved and the distance traveled. For instance, imagine you’re a
drag racer. Your acceleration is 26.6 meters per second2, and your final speed is 146.3 meters
per second. Now find the total distance traveled. Got you, huh? “Not at all,” you say, supremely
confident. “Just let me get my calculator.”

You know the acceleration and the final speed, and you want to know the total distance required
to get to that speed. This problem looks like a puzzler, but if you need the time, you can always
solve for it. You know the final speed, vf, and the initial speed, vi (which is zero), and you know
the acceleration, a. Because vf – vi = at, you know that
Now you have the time. You still need the distance, and you can get it this way:

The second term drops out because vi = 0, so all you have to do is plug in the numbers:

In other words, the total distance traveled is 402 meters, or a quarter mile. Must be a quarter-mile
racetrack.
 MESSAGES
 LOG IN
 EXPLORE
 HELP US
 EDIT

Search

 Home
 » Categories
 » Education and Communications
 » Subjects
 » Science
 » Physics
 » Classical Mechanics

 Article

 Edit

 Discuss
Edit Article

How to Calculate Acceleration

Three Methods:Calculating Average Acceleration from Two VelocitiesCalculating Acceleration from a ForceCheck Your UnderstandingCommunity Q&A

Acceleration is the rate of change in the velocity of an object as it moves.[1] If an object maintains a constant velocity, it is
not accelerating. Acceleration only occurs when the velocity of the object changes. If the object is changing velocity at a
 constant rate, the object is moving with constant acceleration. [2]. You can calculate the rate of acceleration, measured in
meters per second, based on the time it takes you to go from one velocity to another, or based on the mass of an object.
Method 1
Calculating Average Acceleration from Two Velocities
1.
 1
Define the equation for average acceleration. You can calculate the average acceleration of an object over a period of time based
on its velocity (its speed traveling in a specific direction), before and after that time. To do this you need to know equation for
acceleration: a = Δv / Δt where a is acceleration, Δv is the change in velocity, and Δt is the amount of time it took for that change to
occur.[3]

 The unit for acceleration is meters per second per second or m/s2.
 Acceleration is a vector quantity, meaning it has both a magnitude and a direction.[4] The magnitude is the total amount of
acceleration whereas the direction is the way in which the object is moving. If it is slowing down the acceleration will be negative.
2.
 2
Understand the variables. You can further define Δv and Δt: Δv = vf - vi and Δt = tf - ti where vf is the final velocity, vi is the initial
velocity, tf is the ending time, and ti is the starting time.[5]

 Because acceleration has a direction, it is important to always subtract the initial velocity from the final velocity. If you reverse them,
the direction of your acceleration will be incorrect.
 Unless otherwise stated in the problem, the starting time is usually 0 seconds.
3.
 3
Use the formula to find acceleration. First write down your equation and all of the given variables. The equation is a = Δv / Δt =
(vf - vi)/(tf - ti). Subtract the initial velocity from the final velocity, then divide the result by the time interval. The final result is your
average acceleration over that time.

 If the final velocity is less than the initial velocity, acceleration will turn out to be a negative quantity or the rate at which an object
slows down.
 Example 1: A race car accelerates uniformly from 18.5 m/s to 46.1 m/s in 2.47 seconds. What is its average acceleration?
 Write the equation: a = Δv / Δt = (vf - vi)/(tf - ti)
 Define the variables: vf = 46.1 m/s, vi = 18.5 m/s, tf = 2.47 s, ti = 0 s.
 Solve: a = (46.1 – 18.5)/2.47 = 11.17 meters/second2.
 Example 2: A biker traveling at 22.4 m/s comes to halt in 2.55 s after applying brakes. Find his deceleration.
 Write the equation: a = Δv / Δt = (vf - vi)/(tf - ti)
 Define the variables: vf = 0 m/s, vi = 22.4 m/s, tf = 2.55 s, ti = 0 s.
 Solve: a = (0 – 22.4)/2.55 = -8.78 meters/second2.
Not finding what you're looking for?
Here are some things you can do:
See what worked for other readers

Find answers specific to you

Read similar articles other readers found useful

Done

Method 2
 Calculating Acceleration from a Force
1.
 1
Define Newton’s Second Law of Motion. Newton’s second law of motion states that when the forces acting on an object are
unbalanced, the object will accelerate. This acceleration is dependent upon the net forces that act upon the object and the object’s
mass.[6] Using this law, acceleration can be calculated when a known force is acting on an object of known mass.

 Newton’s law can be represented by the equation Fnet = m x a, where Fnet is the total force acting on the object, m is the object’s
mass, and a is the acceleration of the object.
 When using this equation, keep your units in the metric system. Use kilograms (kg) for mass, newtons (N) for force, and meters per
second squared (m/s2) for acceleration.
2.
 2
Find the mass of your object. To find the mass of an object, simply place it on a balance or scale and find its mass in grams. If you
have a very large object, you may need to find a reference that can provide you with the mass. Larger objects will likely have a mass
with the unit of kilograms (kg).

 For this equation, you will want to convert the mass into kilograms. If the mass you have is in grams simply divide that mass by 1000
to convert to kilograms.
3.
 3
Calculate the net force acting on your object. A net force is an unbalanced force. If you have two forces opposing each other and
one is larger than the other, you will have a net force in the direction of the larger force.[7] Acceleration happens when an unbalanced
force acts on an object, causing it to change speeds towards the direction the force is pushing or pulling it.

 For example: Let’s say you and your big brother are playing tug-of-war. You pull the rope to the left with a force of 5 newtons while
your brother pulls the rope in the opposite direction with a force of 7 newtons. The net force on the rope is 2 newtons to the right, in
the direction of your brother.
 In order to properly understand the units, know that 1 newton (N) is equal to 1 kilogram X meter/second squared (kg X m/s 2).[8]
4.
 4
Rearrange the equation F = ma to solve for acceleration. You can change this formula around to solve for acceleration by dividing
both sides by the mass, so: a = F/m. To find the acceleration, simply divide the force by the mass of the object being accelerated.

 Force is directly proportional to the acceleration, meaning that a greater force will lead to a greater acceleration.
 Mass is inversely proportional to acceleration, meaning that with a greater mass, the acceleration will decrease.
5.
 5
Use the formula to solve for acceleration. Acceleration is equal to the net force acting on an object divided by the mass of the
object. Once you’ve established the values for your variables, do the simple division to find the acceleration of the object.

 For example: A 10 Newton force acts uniformly on a mass of 2 kilograms. What is the object’s acceleration?
 a = F/m = 10/2 = 5 m/s2
Method 3
Check Your Understanding

1. 1
Direction of Acceleration. The physics concept of acceleration doesn't always match how we would use the term in everyday life.
Every acceleration has a direction, usually represented as positive if it's UP or RIGHT, and negative if DOWN or LEFT. See if your
answer makes sense based on this breakdown:
Behavior of a Car How is Velocity Changing? Direction of Acceleration

Driver moving right (+) hits gas pedal

+ → ++ (more positive) positive
Driver moving right (+) hits brakes
++ → + (less positive) negative
Driver moving left (-) hits gas pedal
- → -- (more negative) negative
Driver moving left (-) hits brakes
-- → - (less negative) positive
Driver moves at constant velocity
remains the same acceleration is zero
2.
 2
Direction of Force. Remember, a force only causes acceleration in the direction of the force. Some problems may try to trick you
with irrelevant values.

 Example Problem: A toy boat with mass 10kg is accelerating north at 2 m/s2. A wind blowing due west exerts a force of 100 Newtons
on the boat. What is the boat's new northward acceleration?
 Solution: Because the force is perpendicular to the direction of motion, it does not have an effect on motion in that direction. The boat
continues to accelerate north at 2 m/s2.
3.
 3
Net Force. If more than one force acts on an object, combine them into a net force before you calculate acceleration. For a problem
in two dimensions, this looks something like this:

 Example Problem: April is pulling a 400 kg container right with a force of 150 newtons. Bob stand on the left of the container and
pushes with a force of 200 newtons. A wind blowing left exerts a force of 10 newtons. What is the acceleration of the container?
 Solution: This problem uses tricky language to try and catch you. Draw a diagram and you'll see the forces are 150 newtons right,
200 newtons right, and 10 newtons left. If "right" is the positive direction, the net force is 150 + 200 - 10 = 340 newtons. Acceleration
= F / m = 340 newtons / 400 kg = 0.85 m/s2.
Make Progress on wikiHow
As you learn How to Calculate Acceleration, we can help you every step of the way. Are you...

Getting started?
We'll help you get motivated to dive in.
Working on it?
We'll help you stay focused on your goal.
Done?
We'll help you figure out what's next.
Here are some things you can do:
See what worked for other readers

Find answers specific to you

Read similar articles other readers found useful

Done
You're helping people by reading wikiHow

wikiHow's mission is to help people learn, and we really hope this article helped you. Now you are helping others, just
by visiting wikiHow.

Trek to Teach is a nonprofit organization that sends fluent English speakers to teach in Nepal near the Himalayas. In
addition to teaching, Trek to Teach strengthens local communities by helping schools build infrastructure, paint their
classrooms, and find furniture.
 Click below to let us know you read this article, and wikiHow will donate to Trek to Teach on your behalf. Thanks for
helping us achieve our mission of helping people learn how to do anything.

Yes, I read the article

Community Q&A
 Can acceleration become zero?
wikiHow Contributor

Yes. If the object is not moving, or is moving at a constant speed in a straight line, the acceleration is zero.

Not Helpful 12 Helpful 51

 How do I calculate velocity?

wikiHow Contributor

The equation or formula for velocity is similar to the one for speed. To figure out velocity, you divide the distance by the time it takes
to travel that distance, and then you add your direction to it.

Not Helpful 15 Helpful 35

 A body starts from rest and acquires a velocity of 10 m/s in 2s; what's the acceleration?
Mark Cabotage

The formula is final velocity - initial velocity / time. The final velocity is 10 m/s, because the body's final movement as we know is
10m/s. The initial velocity is 0 m/s, because it states, "A body starts from rest." 10 m/s - 0m/s / 2 s, eventually you'll get 5 m/s/s.

Not Helpful 8 Helpful 16

 How do I calculate the normal force when I have a mass of 10 kg, angle of inclination _=15, length of 10 m and the
coefficient of kinetic friction = 0,15?
wikiHow Contributor

Calculating the normal force here, you will only need the mass and angle of inclination of this surface. When placing the X-axis on
the ramp of your free body diagram and if the only force acting on your object of 10kg is gravity of Earth, then looking at the Y-axis of
your diagram, you should see that that normal force is equal to the Y-component of the gravitational force. Considering the angle
given, you should see the normal force is equal to (mass * gravityAcceleration * sin(15)).

Not Helpful 14 Helpful 19

 A force of 18 N is applied to a 4-kg block that is at rest on a level surface. Find the acceleration. How fast and how far did
the block travel in 5 seconds?
wikiHow Contributor

Acceleration: F = ma; 18 = 4a; a= 4.5. Velocity (how fast): V[final]= V[initial]+at. Since the object starts at rest, the V[initial] is zero.
V[final] = (4.5)(5). Velocity = 22.5 m/s. Distance (how far): D = vt; D = (22.5)(5); D = 112.5 m.

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 5

 What is the acceleration of an object?

wikiHow Contributor

Acceleration is defined as the change in velocity over time. For example, consider a car accelerating from a stoplight to 60 mph. Its
initial velocity is zero, but over a time of several seconds, its velocity increases until it reaches 60 mph. If the car remains at 60 mph
without changing velocity, then its acceleration would be zero, or zero change in velocity over time.

Not Helpful 9 Helpful 12

 A bus travels at a distance of 90 km in two hrs and another 30 km in one hour. What is the average speed of the bus?
wikiHow Contributor

Convert the distances to meters and the times taken to seconds for both and apply the formular distance/time taken, add your
answers and divide by two.

Not Helpful 20 Helpful 16

 What is an example of negative acceleration in a daily situation?
wikiHow Contributor

Throwing a ball into the air (the acceleration becomes negative as it approaches its height of potential before falling and it slows
down). Or a car decelerating.

Not Helpful 16 Helpful 12

 How do I calculate net force?

wikiHow Contributor

Net force is the sum of all the forces acting on an object. For example, the net force of two people pushing a box the same direction
would be the sum of the force exerted by each person. The same goes for two people pushing against each other, but one force will
be negative.

Not Helpful 10 Helpful 8

 How do I calculate acceleration using the initial and final velocity?

wikiHow Contributor

You just subtract the final velocity from the initial velocity (which may be 0 if not given in the problem), then you divide by the time
given.

Not Helpful 18 Helpful 11

Show more answers

Unanswered Questions

 How do you calculate the acceleration without using the formula force?

Answer this question Flag as...

 A train starting from rest attains a velocity of 72 kmph in 5 minutes. Assuming the acceleration is uniform, how do I find the
acceleration and distance traveled by the train for attaining this velocity?

Answer this question Flag as...

 What does the mass mean if there are two bunches of objects connected with a rope and they are set at different sides of a
crown block?

Answer this question Flag as...

 How do I calculate my acceleration?

Answer this question Flag as...

 If the car is heading north covering a distance of 500 meters in 20.0 seconds. What is the cars velocity?

Answer this question Flag as...

Show more unanswered questions

Ask a Question

Submit

Video

Edit Related wikiHows

How to
Understand Classical Physics
How to
Calculate Instantaneous Velocity

How to
Solve Differential Equations
How to
Calculate Speed in Metres per Second

How to
Calculate Velocity
How to
Calculate Kinetic Energy
How to
Calculate Force

How to
Calculate Average Speed
 How to
Find Normal Force

How to
Calculate Average Velocity

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-1/Acceleration
2. ↑ http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-1/Acceleration
3. ↑ http://physics.info/acceleration/
Show more... (5)
 Article Info
Categories: Classical Mechanics
In other languages:

Español: calcular la aceleración, Português: Calcular a Aceleração, Italiano: Calcolare l'Accelerazione, Deutsch: Die
Beschleunigung berechnen, Русский: найти ускорение, 中文: 计算加速度, Français: calculer l'accélération, Bahasa
Indonesia: Menghitung Percepatan, Nederlands: Versnelling berekenen, ไทย: คำนวณควำมเร่ง, Tiếng Việt: Tính gia
tốc, ‫ حساب العجلة‬:‫العربية‬
 Edit
 Send fan mail to authors
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 822,059 times.
Did this article help you?

Yes No

About This Article

448 votes - 65%

Click a star to vote

Co-authors: 39

Updated: 9 days ago

Views: 822,059

Related Articles
How to
Understand Classical Physics

How to
Calculate Instantaneous Velocity
How to
Solve Differential Equations

How to
Calculate Speed in Metres per Second
 Did this article help you?

Yes

No

 Home
 About wikiHow
 Jobs
 Terms of Use
 RSS
 Site map
 Log In
 Mobile view
All text shared under a Creative Commons License.

Powered by Mediawiki.
  Topics
o Math
o Algebra

o Calculus

o Math Worksheets

o Language Arts
o Science

o Social Studies

o Languages

o Facts

o Quizzes

o Flashcards

o Timelines

o Login
 6th and 7th Grade
 8th Grade
 High School
 Notes
  Formulas

 Examples

 Literature
 Literature Summaries
 Fun Games
Home > Formulas > Physics Formulas > Acceleration Formula

Acceleration Formula

Acceleration Formula

Acceleration is a measure of how quickly the velocity of an object changes. So, the acceleration is the change
in the velocity, divided by the time. Acceleration has a magnitude (a value) and a direction. The direction of
the acceleration does not have to be the same as the direction of the velocity. The units for acceleration are
meters per second squared (m/s2).

a = acceleration (m/s2)
vf = the final velocity (m/s)
vi = the initial velocity (m/s)
t = the time in which the change occurs (s)
Δv = short form for "the change in" velocity (m/s)
Acceleration Formula Questions:
1) A sports car is travelling at a constant velocity v = 5.00 m/s. The driver steps on the gas, and the car
accelerates forward. After 10.0 seconds, the driver stops accelerating and maintains a constant velocity v =
25.0 m/s. What was the car’s acceleration?
Answer: The initial velocity is vi = 5.00 m/s, in the forward direction. The final velocity is vf = 25.0 m/s in the
forward direction. The time in which this change occurred is 10.0 s. The acceleration is in the forward direction,
with a value:

The car's acceleration is 2.00 m/s2, forward.

2) A child drops a rock off of a cliff. The rock falls for 15.0 s before hitting the ground. The acceleration due to
gravity is g = 9.80 m/s2. What was the velocity of the rock the instant before it hit the ground?
Answer: The rock was released from rest, so the initial velocity is vi = 0.00 m/s. The time in which the change
occurred is 15.0 s. The acceleration is 9.80 m/s2. The final velocity must be found, so rearrange the equation:

vf = vi + at
vf = 0.00 m/s +(9.80 m/s2)(15.0 s)
 vf = 147 m/s
The rock is falling, so the direction of the velocity is down.
Related Links:
Acceleration Quiz
Acceleration Practice Problems Quiz
Force and Acceleration Quiz
Acceleration Conversion

More Topics
 Handwriting
Spanish
Facts
Examples
Formulas
Difference Between
 Inventions
Literature
Flashcards
2018
OnlineCalendar
Calculators
Multiplication
 Quizzes

 Flashcards

 Coloring Pages

 Links

 Link us
  Contact Us

 Privacy policy

 Terms of Use

 Search

© 2005-2018 Softschools.com

Velocity Formula
Velocity is a measure of how quickly an object moves. So, the velocity is the change in the position of an
object, divided by the time. Velocity has a magnitude (a value) and a direction. The unit for velocity is meters
per second (m/s).

v = velocity (m/s)
xf = the final position (m)
xi = the initial position (m)
t = the time in which the change occurs (s)
Δx = short form for "the change in" position (m)
Velocity Formula Questions:
1) A sail boat is in a 1000 m race, and it crosses the starting line when it is already at full speed. It reaches the
finish line in exactly 1 minute and 20 seconds ( = 80.0 s). What is the velocity of the sail boat?
Answer: The initial position is the starting line, which we can give the value xi = 0.00 m. The finish line
is 1000 m from the start, so xf = 1000 m. The time it takes the sail boat to travel that distance is t = 80.0 s.
The velocity can be found using the equation:

v = 12.5 m/s
The velocity is 12.5 m/s, in the direction of the finish line.
2) Each floor in a tall building is 3.00 m high. When it's moving, the elevator in this building moves at a
constant velocity of 1.50 m/s. If the first floor is at position 0.00 m, the second floor is at position 3.00 m, and
so on, how much time does it take for the elevator to go from the sixth (6th) to the eighteenth (18th) floor?
Answer: The initial and final positions of the elevator can be found using the floor numbers and the distance
between floors. The initial floor is 6, so the initial position is:
xi = (6)(3.00 m)
xi = 18.0 m
and the final floor is 18, so the final position is:
xf = (18)(3.00 m)
xf = 54.0 m
The velocity (which we assume to be constant) is v = 1.50 m/s. The time must be found, so rearrange the
equation:
t = 24.0 s
The time it takes for the elevator to travel from the sixth to the eighteenth floor is 24.0seconds.
Related Links:
Velocity Practice Problems Quiz
Speed and Velocity Quiz

Distance Speed Time Formula

Speed is a measure of how quickly an object moves from one place to another. It is equal to the distance
traveled divided by the time. It is possible to find any of these three values using the other two. This picture is
helpful:
The positions of the words in the triangle show where they need to go in the equations. To find the speed,
distance is over time in the triangle, so speed is distance divided by time. To find distance, speed is beside
time, so distance is speed multiplied by time.

, ,

, ,
s = speed (meters/second)
d = distance traveled (meters)
t = time (seconds)
Distance Speed Time Formula Questions:
1) A dog runs from one side of a park to the other. The park is 80.0 meters across. The dog takes 16.0
seconds to cross the park. What is the speed of the dog?
Answer: The distance the dog travels and the time it takes are given. The dog’s speed can be found with the
formula:

s = 5.0 m/s
The speed of the dog is 5.0 meters per second.
2) A golf cart is driven at its top speed of 27.0 km/h for 10.0 minutes. In meters, how far did the golf cart
travel?
Answer: The first step to solve this problem is to change the units of the speed and time so that the answer
found will be in meters, since this is what the question asks for. The speed is:
s = 27.0 km/h
s = 7.50 m/s
Converting the units, the speed is 7.50 m/s. The time the cart traveled for was:
t = 10.0 min

t = 600s
The speed of the cart and the time of travel are given, so the distance traveled can be found using the
formula:
d = st
d = (7.50 m/s)(600 s)
d = 4500 m
The golf cart traveled 4500 m, which is equal to 4.50 km.
Related Links:
Speed Quiz
Speed and Velocity Quiz
Angular Speed Formula
Average Speed Formula

Over 11,086,000 live tutoring sessions served!

To get the best deal on Tutoring, call 1-855-666-7440 (Toll Free)

 Home

 How it works

 About Us


 PhysicsMotionSpeed
Top

Speed

When we see some activities like a running boy, moving bus etc, only one question put in our mind that how these things are moving. For a
moving body, speed is the quantity by which we know how fast the body is moving. The concept of motion is described by using some terms like
velocity, speed, distance; acceleration etc. motion is described as changed in the position of moving object at an instant of time or period time.

This is one of the basic parameter for motion. It is quite different with speed as it is not only covered length or distance. It is a scalar quantity with
only magnitude not direction. It was first discovered by Galileo. He gave the formula and definition of speed that is distance divided time. It can be
calculated in terms of constant, angular, Instantaneous, and average speed. Let’s discuss about speed, its calculation, and its different types.
What is Speed?
Back to Top

Defined as the distance covered by a moving object in unit time taken. It is a scalar quantity and hence it can only be represented by magnitude
not by direction.In other words, “The speed of an object can also be considered as the magnitude of the velocity of the object”. The speed
of a body is the rate of change of distance with time. Numerically it is the distance travelled by the body in 1 sec. It is generally represented by the
letter u and v.

Formula :
Speed = Distance coveredTime takenDistance coveredTime taken

or

X= dtdt

where,

X = speed of the moving object;

d = distance traveled by the moving object;

t = time taken to travel distance ‘d’.

Units
Back to Top

It can be measured in meter per second or m/s or in kmph (kilometer per hour) or fps (feet per second). But the S. I. unit of speed is m/s.

How to Calculate?
Back to Top

It can be calculated by finding how much distance traveled by the body and in how much time with respect to the point of observation. Once we
find these two things (distance traveled and time taken to travel the distance), we can divide the distance traveled by the time taken to obtain the
speed of the object using formula,
Speed = dtdt.Where

d = distance traveled

t = time taken.

Average Speed
Back to Top
The Average Speed is defined as "the ratio of total distance traveled, irrespective of the direction with that of the time of the
observation."

Let us Consider that the distance traveled by a moving car is denoted by d and it covers this distance in t time, then the average speed Savg is
given by:
Savg = dtdt

Where

d = distance traveled

t = time taken.

Although, from the equation it seems that the average speed is same as that of the speed, but there is a significant difference between these two
types of speed.

For better understanding of the average speed let’s solve few examples:

Solved Example
Question: A train is traveling from city A to city B with the speed of 70 mph and while traveling back from city B to city A it travels with the speed
of 85 mph. Find the average speed of the train for the whole trip?
Solution:

As we know that the train is traveling between city A and B, so, the distance traveled by it is two times that of the distance between city A and B.
Now, consider that D = distance between city A and B ,
t1 = Time taken by train to travel from city A to B
= D70D70,
t2 = Time taken by train to travel from city B to A
= D85D85,
Similarly, S1= Speed of the train from city A to B = 70 mph
S2 = Speed of the train from city B to A = 85 mph

So, the average speed of the round trip is

Savg = (Total Distance Traveled)Time Taken(Total Distance Traveled)Time Taken
SavgSavg = 2D(D70+D85)2D(D70+D85)
= (2D×70×85)155D(2D×70×85)155D
= (2×70×85)155(2×70×85)155.

Savg = 76.77mph.
So, the average speed of the train for the round trip is 76.77 mph.

→ Read More
Constant Speed
Back to Top

When a body moves equal amount of distance in equal time interval, the object is said to be moving with the Constant speed or Uniform
speed.An example of the constant speed is the movement of the hour hand and minute hand of the clock.→ Read More
Instantaneous
Back to Top

The speed attained by the body at that instant of time. A speedometer can read the instantaneous velocity of an object. The manual
calculation of the instantaneous speed is difficult. We can calculate the instantaneous speed by using distance-time graph.

→ Read More

Angular
Back to Top

When a object moves along the circular track, it has linear speed as well as the angular speed. The linear is the measure of the distance traveled
by the object per unit time. It is the measure of the angle traveled by the object per unit time.
In other words,
The measure of how fast the angle of the object is changing on the circular track.→ Read More

Linear
Back to Top

Defined as the distance traveled by the object per unit time. It is denoted by,
V = StSt

where, S = distance traveled

t = time taken.

It is related to angular Velocity ωω by the equation,

V = ωω r.
It is related to the angular speed ωω by the following relation
S = r θθ;
Dividing by t, we get,
StSt = r ωtωt.V = r ωω.
where, S = distance traveled,
ωω = angular speed,
and r = radius of the curvature along which object is traveling.→ Read More
Problems
Back to Top

The Speed Problems or commonly known as uniform rate problems involve object moving with either constant speed or with an average. Here you
will find “how far” or “how fast” or “how long” the body moves.

Solved Examples
Question 1: If a train is moving at the speed of 40 mph, find the distance it travels in 2.5 s?
Solution:

From the question we have,

Speed (X) = 40 m/s
Time (T) = 2.5s

The distance (D) traveled by the train can be given by

Distance = Speed ×× Time or
D = X ×× T

Substituting the respective values in the above equation, we have,

D = 40 ×× 2.5
= 100 miles
So, the distance traveled by the train in 2.5 hours is 100 miles.
Question 2: A man drives a car at an average speed of 30 mph to a nearby metro station. He boarded the metro to reach his office which travels
at an average speed of 60 mph. The entire distance was 150 miles and the entire trip took three hours. Find the distance from the metro station to
his office?

Solution:

Let the

Distance Speed Time

Driving x 30 t

Traveling by Metro 150 - x 60 3-t

Total 150 s 3

From this we can derive three equations and solve to find the various variable; we know that,
Distance = Speed × Time. x = s × t. x = 30t ..............(1)
150 – x = 60 × (3 – t) ............(2) 150 = 3s

So, putting the value of x from (1) in (2) we have (2) as

150 - 30t = 180 - 60t
60t - 30t = 180 - 150
30t = 30
t = 1 hr.
So, the man drive his car for 1 hour which means that he travels for 30 miles through his car in 1 hr. (solving equation 1).
As we know that the total distance traveled by him is 150 miles, So the distance from the metro station to his office is 120 miles (150 - 30).

Speed vs Time Graph

Back to Top

The Speed of a body is constant,that means speed does not change with time, hence there is no acceleration.
So, speed-time graph for a body moving with constant speed is a straight line parallel to the time axis, i.e., if the speed-time graph of a body is a
straight line and parallel to the time axis, the speed of the body is constant.

We know,
Speed = Distance TraveledTime TakenDistance TraveledTime TakenSo, Distance Traveled = Speed ×× Time Taken ------(1)

Now, to find out the distance traveled by the body at point C using the graph,
Distance traveled = OA ×× OC = Area of rectangle OABC.Thus, the area enclosed by the speed-time curve and the time axis gives us the
distance traveled by the body.

Graph When Speed Changes at an Uniform Rate:

When a body moves with uniform acceleration, its speed changes by equal amounts in equal intervals of time. The graph for an uniformly
changing speed will be straight line.

Distance traveled = Area of triangle OPQ

 = 1212 ×× area of rectangle ORPQ
= 1212 ×× OR ×× OQ

When the initial speed of the body is not zero:

The graph given below, shows the graph of a body having an initial speed equal to OB.
The body accelerates from B to C.

Distance traveled = area of OBCA

= (Sum of two parallel side)(Height)2(Sum of two parallel side)(Height)2
= (OB+AC)(OA)2(OB+AC)(OA)2.

When speed changes at a non-uniform Rate:

When the speed of a body changes in an irregular manner, the graph of the body is a curved line. The distance traveled by the body is given by
the area between the speed-time curve and the time axis.
From the graph, the distance traveled from point O to point P is equal to the area enclosed by OPR.Distance traveled = Area of OPR.

Motion Graphs

Velocity

More topics in Speed

Constant Speed Average Speed

Instantaneous Speed Rotational Speed

Linear Speed Angular Speed

 Related Topics

Physics Help Physics Tutor

 Speed
o What is Speed?
o Units
o How to Calculate?
o Average Speed
o Constant Speed
o Instantaneous
o Angular
o Linear
o Problems
o Speed vs Time Graph
Related Concepts
speed and velocity

Speed Conversion

Speed of a Wave

speed of the wave

Tangential Speed

Velocity and Speed

What is Average Speed

What is Constant Speed

Related Formulas
calculating speed

Equation for Speed

what is orbital speed

Angular Speed Equation

Related Calculators
Speed Calculator

Angular Speed Calculator

Average Speed Calculator

conversion calculator speed

*AP and SAT are registered trademarks of the College Board.

About Us | Careers | Contact Us | Blog | Homework Help | Teaching Jobs | Sales Jobs | Search
Lessons | Answers | Calculator | Worksheets | Formula | Offers | Physics Help | Chemistry Help | Maths Help | Biology | Calculators | Formulas

Copyright © 2018 - TutorVista.com, All rights reserved.

 In physics, you are going to observe various properties attributable to physical objects. In mechanics, especially, you will learn
about vectors. Vectors specify 1. a magnitude and 2. a direction, and are especially useful when describing the motion of
objects in two or three dimensions. One type of vector that is frequently encountered in physics is the velocity vector. The
velocity vector describes the rate (distance/time) at which an object is moving, and in what direction. Again, the velocity vector
has two parts to it: Magnitude and Direction. For instance, in two dimensions (meaning on a flat surface), a car could be going
North-West. This is the direction. The car may also be traveling at 5 m/s. This is the cars rate. When we express this as a
velocity, we would say the car "has a velocity of 5 m/s, North-West".
Now to your question. The "rate" part of a velocity vector is referred to as the "speed". Speed and velocity are different because
speed is the magnitude of the velocity vector. In other words, it describes one part of the velocity: the rate, but not the direction.
A car's "SPEEDometer" is so-called because while it will tell you the magnitude of your velocity in mph (or km/h), but it will not
tell you in what direction, thus leaving you with a speed. Because of this, speeds can only be positive, never negative.
So, speed is important because it is a critical component of a velocity vector. It describes the vector's magnitude, and the
vector can be used to describe the motion of objects in space-- a very important part of physics.
 Login
 Register

 FORUM
 ARTICLES
 ASK EXPERTS
 EXAMS
 EDUCATION
 MORE

Search

1. Discussion Forums
2. General
3. Miscellaneous
4.

You must Sign In to post a response.

 Category: Miscellaneous

09 Apr 2009 07:46

Siraj CM

Points: 1

Importance of speed in our life.

Sometimes speed plays an important roles in our life.If you are participating in a game,then you should show some quick move
movement.Like this you have a lot of moments in your life.Can you share your experience with me.

 #73973

09 Apr 2009 07:53

Seema RK

Points: 3

Speed is not impotent in the life, perfectness in right time is very very important in the life. As per my knowledge from speed we
looses many things then the getting. Without laziness if we worked hard to reach our goal in the life within a time, it is called real
speed. In our life each and every thing need certain time to complete. we should know the meaning of that and according to that we
have to increase our life speed to reach them.
Regards,
Seemark

 #74091

09 Apr 2009 12:30

Grungy

Points: 1

Speed is NOT important. Work done slowly but with perfectness and calmness often results in YOUR SUCCESS.

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

 #74411

10 Apr 2009 08:03

Thanusha

Points: 3

Hi Everybody

I personally feel it depends on certain situation. Speed shows your performance and efficiency in performing a task. If you are a fat
learner you will be acknowledge by many people. If in cllege your lecturers may be praud of you and if its in working environment
then Im preety sure your employer would be glad to employ you. But in some cases speed should be avoid. One good example to
this is ON THE ROAD.

Regards
Thanusha
  #75009

11 Apr 2009 20:37

Siraj CM

Points: 3

Hello Seemark,

Suppose you are working in a multinational company, and got an important project should complete within a short span of
time.At the same time that project also given to another person also.In this situation,if you work slowly,then what the
advantage.Do you know the new working culture.Every company or organisation prefering smart workers not slow
workers.This is speedy world,no one waiting for you.All are running to catch their life.

 #78393

20 Apr 2009 05:56

Vinay Gaur

Points: 6

Subscribe Un Subscribe
 This thread is locked for new responses. Please post your comments and questions as a separate thread.
If required, refer to the URL of this page in your new post.

Submit New Thread

Return to Return to Discussion Forum

Top Contributors
Today

 Ravi Shankar (54)

 K Mohan (30)
 Natarajan (19)

Last 7 Days

 Ravi Shankar (1148)

 DR.N.V. Sriniva... (570)
 Natarajan (570)

more...
 Subscribe to Email
 Get Jobs by Email

 Forum posts by Email

 Articles by Email

SUBSCRIBE

 Follow Us







About IndiaStudyChannel.com
Being the most popular educational website in India, we believe in providing quality content to our readers. If you have any questions or
concerns regarding any content published here, feel free to contact us using the Contact link below.
GENERAL

 Guest Posting
 Adsense Revenue
 Infolinks
 Become an Editor
 Membership Levels
 Ranking System
 Payments
 Winners & Awards

QUICK LINKS

 Forum
 Ask Experts
 Articles
 Study Abroad
 Help
 Career Guidance
 Explore India
 Jobs & Interviews
 Social

EDUCATION

 Universities
 Colleges
 Schools
 Courses
 Admissions
 Question Papers
 Exam Results
 Practice Tests
 Distance MBA

Education LeadsAdvertiseMake Money

 About Us

 Contact Us
 Copyright

 Privacy Policy

 Terms of Use

SpiderWorks Technologies, Kochi - India. © All Rights Reserved.