3.2.10

Speed

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Speed

Speed is the rate of movement or how fast something is moving.

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Speed

  • Speed is the rate of movement of an object.
    • High-speed trains cover more distance in a shorter space of time.
    • Snails move at low speeds because they only cover short distances in a long time.
  • Objects that are not moving have no speed.
    • If you are standing still on the equator, you will be spinning over 1,000 miles per hour as well as traveling around the Sun at around 67,000 miles per hour.
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Speed calculation

  • Speed is calculated by:
    • Average speed = distance ÷ time.
  • If speed is measured in meters per second (m/s):
    • Distance would be in metres (m) and time in seconds (s).
  • If speed is measured in kilometres per hour (km/h):
    • Distance would be in kilometres (km) and time in hours (h).
  • If speed is measured in miles per hour (mph):
    • Distance would be in miles and time in hours (h).
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Average speed

  • We calculate average speed because speed may change throughout the time an object is in motion.
    • For instance, if a car speeds up at some traffic lights and then stops, speed will increase and then decrease.
  • A car traveling 500m in 10s has an average speed of:
    • 500 ÷ 10 = 50m/s.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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