# How do you calculate speed and velocity?

Oct 18, 2015

Speed is a scalar quantity which means it has magnitude only but no direction and velocity is a vector quantity which means it has both magnitude and direction.

#### Explanation:

Speed can be defined as the rate of change of distance travelled by a body which means, that how much time does a particular body is taking to cover some specific amount of distance. Therefore, speed can be calculated as:-

SPEED= DISTANCE/TIME [which means distance divided by time]

As, distance is a scalar quantity, that is why speed is also a scalar quantity.

Velocity can be defined as the rate of change of displacement of the body which means, that how much time does the body takes to displace itself from one position to another. It can be calculated as:-

VELOCITY= DISPLACEMENT/TIME [ Which means displacement divided by time]

As, displacement is a vector quantity, that is why velocity is also a vector quantity.

Also, both velocity and speed have the same S.I units, that is m/s [metres per seonds] because the S.I units of both displacement and distance is meters.