is velocity speed with a direction?

Question

I am doing homework and this is one of the true or false questions that is on the worksheet

Answer 1

Hi Leann, from Kingston, MA. Hope you are having a great day at school.
Thanks for connecting with Wyzant...I am here to help.

Good question and a good way to understand the difference.

 

Speed is a numerical value that is a way of identifying a quantity of something. In the case of speed, it is a quantity of the distance something moves during a specific period of time...that is why it is designated like:

     miles/hour   =   miles per hour  = so many miles traveled in an hour

                       This is just an example

In science, speed is known as a scalar quantity, it just identifies how fast something is moving over a period of time.

 

Now velocity, though it sometimes and is written like speed...differs in that velocity unlike speed, velocity not only includes how fast something is moving, it also tells in which direction that item/object is moving: up, down, upward, in a straight line, in an arch, in a parabola, a wavelength or whatever direction. It has a vector quantity. A vector quantity identifies a direct....like a 'ray'→   Remember in Geometry the definition of what a ray is...that is the difference between speed and velocity.

Hope this helps.

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