Course No: MKT-125

General Science and Environment

Chapter:
Speed, Velocity and Acceleration

Lecture given by
Dr. Md. Anwarul Azim Akhand
Professor
Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
University of Dhaka
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration

• Before understanding the differences between the three terms speed, velocity and
acceleration it is essential to understand the whole concept and definitions.
• Everything in this Universe is moving.
• Let us understand the concept with the help of an example.
• Consider a situation where a group people are running across the field. So, while
thinking about it, what comes to mind?
• Maybe you will think about the speed to explain how fast they are running?
• Or you might think of the acceleration to explain how the runners gain speed?
• And some might think about the velocity to explain the direction in which they are
running?
• But what do these terms mean? As all three terms are related to motion, what is the
difference between them?
• Motion generally describes the change in the object’s motion, location, or direction,
and the terms speed, acceleration, and velocity describe the motion of an object.
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration
Speed
• Speed refers to the distance traveled per unit time irrespective of the direction. So,
here the only magnitude of importance is a scalar quantity.
• Speed is used to measure how fast an object is traveling and is calculated by its travel
divided by the time it takes to travel the distance.
• Speed of an object can be calculated as: Speed = Distance/Time

Velocity
• Velocity refers to the distance traveled per unit time in some specific direction. So
here, both direction and magnitude are essential and are a vector quantity.
• It states that “How fast an object is moving and in which direction?”
• Velocity is also measured in the same units as the speed, but the direction of motion
is also provided in this case.
• Velocity can be calculated as: Velocity = Displacement/Time
• Let us take an example: A car is going on the highway at the speed of 60 km/h. But
here, we do not know the direction at which the car is being driven. But if we say that
the car is moving at 60 km/h in a northern direction, then we know that the Velocity
is 60 km/hour north.
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration

Acceleration
• Acceleration refers to the rate of change of velocity of an object.
• Here both the direction and magnitude are considered, so it is a vector quantity.
• It states that “How fast an object’s velocity is changing with time?” Basically, it is the
rate of change of velocity during a specific period of time.
• Acceleration can be calculated as: a = v - u/t
(Where “a” = acceleration, “v” = final velocity,
“u” = the initial velocity, and “t” = time.)
• Suppose you are riding a bicycle. You start off by pushing the pedals slowly and after
some time you begin to push the pedals really fast. So you are accelerating to
increase your speed.
• Acceleration is measured in meters/ second squared.
 Difference between Speed and Velocity

SPEED VELOCITY

Speed is the quantitative measure of how Velocity defines the direction of the movement
quickly something is moving. of the body or the object.

Speed is primarily a scalar quantity Velocity is essentially a vector quantity

It is the rate of change of distance It is the rate of change of displacement

Speed of an object moving can never be

negative The velocity of a moving object can be zero.

Speed is a prime indicator of the rapidity of the Velocity is the prime indicator of the position as
object. well as the rapidity of the object.

It can be defined as the distance covered by an Velocity can be defined as the displacement of
object in unit time. the object in unit time.
Calculated as: Speed = Distance/Time Calculated as: Velocity = Displacement/Time
 Comparison between Velocity and Acceleration
Comparison Velocity Acceleration
Basis
Meaning It alludes to the speed of an Acceleration implies any change
object in a given direction. in the velocity of an object with
respect to time

Calculated With Displacement Velocity

What is its Vector Vector
Nature?
What is it? Rate of change of Rate of Change of Velocity
displacement
Formula Displacement/Time (d/t) Change in velocity/Time (v/t)
Ascertains How fast is an object moving, How fast an object’s velocity
and in which direction changes with time.
Unit of meter/second (m/s) meter/second2 (m/s2)
Measurement
 Comparison between Speed, Velocity and Acceleration

Comparison Speed Acceleration Velocity

Parameters
Quantity Type Scalar Quantity Vector Quantity Vector Quantity
Determining Distance and Time Velocity and Time Displacement and Time
Factors
Relation with Rate of Motion Direction and rate of Rate of change of
motion motion velocity
Formula Distance/ Time Velocity/ Time Displacement/ Time
Units of m/s, km/h, mph m/s2 m/s
measurement
Ascertains How fast an object is How fast an object’s How fast an object is
traveling? velocity is changing with moving and in which
time? direction?
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration Problems
1. A girl travels 20 miles on her bicycle. The trip takes 2 hours. Express her speed in mi/hr.

Solution:
First, we identify the variables in our problem:
distance (d) = 20 miles, time (t) = 2 hours
We place the variables in their correct position in the speed formula
S = d/t,
S = 20 mi/2 hour
= 10 mi/ hr

2. A car starts from a stoplight and is traveling with a velocity of 10 m/sec east in 20 seconds. What is
the acceleration of the car?
Solution:
vf - 10 m/sec, vo - 0 m/sec, time - 20 seconds
a = (vf - vo)/t
= (10 m/sec - 0 m/sec)/20 sec
Solving the problem gives an acceleration value of 0.5 m/sec 2.
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration Problems

1. What is the speed of a rocket that travels 9000 meters in 12.12 seconds? 742.57 m/s
2. What is the speed of a jet plane that travels 528 meters in 4 seconds? 132 m/s
3. How long will your trip take (in hours) if you travel 350 km at an average speed of 80 km/hr? 4.38 h
4. How far (in meters) will you travel in 3 minutes running at a rate of 6 m/s? 1,080 m
5. A trip to Cape Canaveral, Florida takes 10 hours. The distance is 816 km. Calculate
the average speed. 81.6 km/h
6. How many seconds will it take for a satellite to travel 450 km at a rate of 120 m/s? 3,750 s
7. What is the speed of a walking person in m/s if the person travels 1000 m in 20 minutes? 0.80 m/s
8. A ball rolls down a ramp for 15 seconds. If the initial velocity of the ball was 0.8 m/sec and the
final velocity was 7 m/sec, what was the acceleration of the ball ? 0.413 m/s²
9. A meteoroid changed velocity from 1.0 km/s to 1.8 km/s in 0.03 seconds. What is the acceleration of
the meteoroid? 26.7 km/ s²
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration Problems

10. A car going 50mph accelerates to pass a truck. Five seconds later the car is going 80mph. Calculate
the acceleration of the car. 6 mph/s

11. The space shuttle releases a space telescope into orbit around the earth. The telescope goes from
being stationary to traveling at a speed of 1700 m/s in 25 seconds. What is the acceleration of the
satellite? 68 m/s²

12. A ball is rolled at a velocity of 12 m/sec. After 36 seconds, it comes to a stop. What is the
acceleration of the ball? -0.33 m/s²

13. How much force is needed to accelerate a truck with a mass of 2,000 kg, at a rate of 3 m/s²? 6,000 N

14. A dragster in a race accelerated from stop to 60 m/s by the time it reached the finish line. The
dragster moved in a straight line and traveled from the starting line to the finish line in 8.0 sec. What
was the acceleration of the dragster? 7.5 m/s²

15. A 300 N force acts on a 25 kg object. The acceleration of the object is 12 m/s²