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A component consists of two vectors, each of which describes its influence only in one direction. In physics, horizontal and vertical velocity components are two elements of the motion of a projectile. However, the vertical force, which does not affect the horizontal velocity, remains constant. When it comes to velocity and speed, both have an arrow pointing in a direction. Unlike velocity, speed and displacement, velocity and speed both have an arrow pointing in a particular direction, while displacement describes how far something has moved from the starting point straight up and one way. In this article, we will get an in-depth grasp of these important concepts of physics.
What is the Speed formula?
An individual’s speed can be measured by comparing it to how fast or slow they are moving. As speed is only measured in magnitude, it is classified as a scalar quantity and not as a vector quantity. Therefore, by measuring how far a body moves in a unit of time, its speed can be determined. Anywhere you ride a bike, wherever the road takes you, or if the track is big and sweeping, it doesn’t matter. The amount of ground you have covered in the time spent riding a bike is what determines how fast the bike will go. No matter which direction is travelled, speed measures how far a certain amount of time can cover. Speeds can be categorised into four types and they are as follows:
- Uniform speed
- Variable speed
- Average speed
- Instantaneous speed
By dividing the total distance by the amount of time it takes for a projectile to complete its journey, we can determine the average speed of the projectile along its path. This is because speed can be defined as the rate at which the projectile changes position in any direction (path of the projectile).
The speed formula is expressed as:
s=d/t
Where,
d expresses the distance travelled
t expresses the time travelled
The units of speed are as follows:
- CGS system is cm.s {-1}
- International System of Unit is ms {-1}
What is Displacement?
Displacement occurs when the body changes from one position to another and that distance along with its direction is expressed as the shortest distance between the initial and final positions of the body. Projectiles or objects undergo displacement when they move. When an object moves in response to a frame, for example, when a passenger on a bus moves towards a door at the same time as the bus is moving or if a ball is kept on the floor of a train and it moves as the train moves. The shortest distance between an object and its new location is called displacement.
A displacement is the replacement or movement of an object along the shortest path. A change in an object’s position can be expressed in terms of its displacement as follows:
(Δx= xf − xo),
Where,
Δx expresses the displacement
xf expresses the final position of the object
x0 expresses the initial position of the object
In SI, displacement is measured in metres (m). It also has a magnitude and a direction:
s = sf – si
Where,
s expresses the displacement
f expresses the final position of the object
I express the initial position of the object
In words, the formula for calculating displacement is as follows:
Displacement (s) = Final position (sf) – Initial position (si)
What is Velocity?
The definition of velocity is the vector indicating the direction and rate of motion of an object, as opposed to speed, which is not direction-based. In simple words, it can be said that the speed at which an object moves in a single direction is the velocity of the object. Velocity can be used to measure a vehicle’s speed or the velocity of a satellite launching into space.
According to what we have learned so far in this article, the scalar magnitude of the velocity vector is the speed of motion. The position is measured by a vector of time and spacetimes the scalar magnitude of the velocity vector. Therefore, one can calculate velocity using a formula involving distance, time and rate.
According to general rules of physics, the constant velocity of a moving object in a straight line can be expressed as follows:
r = d/t,
Where,
r expresses rate or speed
d expresses the distance travelled
t expresses the time it has taken
m/s (metres per second) is the SI Unit for velocity, while velocity can also be expressed in the units of distance, time and distance per time which is similar to the speed formula. Besides metres per second (m/s), kilometres per hour (kph) and miles per hour (mph), there are other units. In addition to displacement, there is time and direction associated with velocity. In vector quantity, velocity, refers to the change in position between an object’s final and initial position as opposed to speed. Velocity is measured as the rate at which momentum changes from one point to another, whereas distance is measured by speed, which measures how long an object’s path is.
Conclusion
As of what we have gone through, we can say that velocity and speed are two important concepts in motion. We also saw why the horizontal velocity does not affect vertical force. It is because velocity and speed rely on the direction whereas displacement is related to the distance travelled in a straight line. A projectile’s speed is also defined as the rate at which it changes location. An object’s displacement is the difference between its start and end position, which affects its movement. This article gave some really helpful insights into some key concepts in physics.
