What is the difference between speed and velocity?

2 Answers
Oct 10, 2017

You can think of speed as the #magnitude# of velocity.

Speed is just that: a speed.

4 [meters per second]
25 [miles per hour]

Speed can never be negative because it is a magnitude.

Velocity is speed with a #direction#.

4 meters per second [to the North]
25 miles per hour [15 degrees West of North]

We can make these quantities negative because it affects direction.

-4 meters per second [to the North] would actually be 4 meters per second [to the South]

Oct 10, 2017

See below.

Explanation:

#vec v# velocity.
#norm(vec v)# speed.