What is the difference between speed and velocity?
Speed and Velocity
Speed: The rate at which an object moves, typically measured in units of distance over time, such as meters per second.
Velocity: The speed of an object in a particular direction, typically measured in units of distance over time, such as meters per second in a given direction.
Acceleration: The rate at which an object changes its velocity, typically measured in units of velocity per unit of time, such as meters per second squared.
How do we measure speed and velocity?
Clues
In pairs: Select one task
Question: You are a 10th grade student who is designing a roller coaster. How can you best use the concepts of speed and velocity to design the roller coaster?
Speed is the distance traveled divided by the time it took to travel it. Velocity is the speed of an object in a particular direction. Remember that speed and velocity must be used together to calculate the motion of an object.
A: Design the roller coaster using a drawing and explain how speed and velocity factors into the design. B: Create a mathematical equation to explain the motion of the roller coaster based on speed and velocity.
Which of the following is a scalar quantity?
- Acceleration
- Velocity
- Speed
If an object travels 100 meters in 10 seconds, what is its average velocity?
- 5 m/s towards the west
- 10 m/s towards the east
- Zero
acceleration
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction.
Uniform acceleration is a type of acceleration in which the velocity of an object changes by an equal amount in every equal interval of time.
Acceleration due to gravity is the acceleration of an object as it falls towards the ground. It is 9.8 m/s2 on Earth.
What is the formula for acceleration?
- a = d / t
- a = F * m
- a = v / t
- a = (v_f - v_i) / t
What is Force?
Force is a push or pull on an object that causes it to accelerate or change its motion. It is measured in newtons (N) and is the result of an interaction between two objects. It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude (amount) and direction.
Brain break: Draw a smiling banana stuck in a bucket of ice cream
How can understanding the concept of force help us to understand the world around us?