Speed and velocity are two terms commonly used in physics, but they are not interchangeable. Speed is a scalar quantity that measures the distance an object travels in a given amount of time, while velocity is a vector quantity that measures the rate of change of an object’s position.
Speed is defined as the distance an object travels divided by the time it takes to travel that distance. It is a scalar quantity and is expressed in terms of distance per unit of time, such as miles per hour or kilometers per hour. For example, if a car travels 60 miles in 1 hour, its speed is 60 miles per hour. It does not matter which direction the car is travelling in, only the distance it covers and the time taken to cover that distance matters.
Velocity, on the other hand, is a vector quantity and measures the rate of change of an object’s position. It is expressed in terms of the direction in which an object is travelling and the speed at which it is travelling. For example, if the same car is travelling at 60 miles per hour to the north, its velocity is 60 miles per hour north. It is important to note that velocity includes the direction of travel.