Introduction

Did you know that there are situations where once an object is moving, it can stay in motion forever?



C6.1 A racecar
Though this is true, in most situations, reality forces such as friction will cause an object to lose energy and slow down. In Lesson 5, you learned about scalar and vector quantities. In this lesson, we will look at how velocity and speed can be distinguished by direction, just as distance and displacement could be. You will learn how an object’s speed can be calculated. We also continue to work with graphs and interpreting an object’s motion from a graph.

  Targets

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

  • explain that when opposing forces are not present, motion at a constant speed requires no energy input
  • define, compare, and contrast scalar and vector quantities
  • describe velocity through calculations
  • investigate scalar motion and work done on an object using calculation and a speed-time graph (including area under the curve) and the slope of the position-time graph

  Watch This

Speed and Velocity Simple Tutorial © YouTube NinetyEast 


This video provides you with a great overview of the difference between speed and velocity. It reinforces that the main difference between the two is direction an object travels. This will help get you in the right mindset for this lesson.