• How to calculate velocity

How to calculate velocity

Velocity means how fast an object is moving per time in a specified direction. The object changes position as it moves from one point to the other within a time interval in a particular direction. This change in position is called displacement. Therefore, we can describe velocity as how fast an object changes position within an interval of time in a particular direction. Velocity is a vector quantity since it is being described in magnitude and direction. Its unit is in meter per second (m/s) and is expressed as:

 

Example: A driver left a car park and drove a distance of 50 meters to junction A after 10 seconds. She continued in that direction to a junction B, a distance of 70 meters from the car park. At this point/junction, the driver has spent a total of 15 seconds. Calculate the driver’s velocity from junction A to B.

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Calculation:

Note that our positions of interest are just from junction A to junction B; not from the car park. The starting point would be from the park if our interest had been to calculate the velocity between the car park and the final point.

  • Starting point distance =  starting position (at junction A)= 50m
  • Ending point distance = Ending position (at junction B)= 70m
  • Initial time (at junction A) = 10seconds
  • Final time (at junction B) = 15seconds

Using equation the first equation, we have:

Velocity = (70 - 50)/(15 - 10) = 20/5 = 4m/s in that direction.

Therefore, the driver was mo ving at a velocity of 4m/s from junction A to junction B.

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