What is Speed? How to Calculate Speed?

What is speed and how to calculate it?

How to Calculate Speed with Distance and Time?

What is a Speed?
Speed is defined as the ratio of distance travelled by an object to the time taken by an object to reach the distance. Eg: Moving bus, running boy etc., Speed is a scalar quantity, hence it is represented using the magnitude and not the direction of motion of an object. Speed was first discovered by Galileo and he gave the formula distance divided by time to calculate the speed. The speed is measured in terms of units such as seconds, meter per second, meter per hour, kilometer per hour, miles per hour, foot per second and knot respectively. This is a short tutorial on how to calculate the speed of an object using a simple example.

Let us learn here how to calculate the speed.
Formula:
Speed = Distance Travelled / Time Taken

Let us consider an example. A snail moves 5 metres in 2 hours.What is the speed at which the snail moves?
Step 1: Given Values
Distance Travelled by Snail = 5 meters
Time Taken = 2 hours

Step 2: Applying the values in the formula,
Speed = Distance Travelled / Time Taken
Speed = 5 / 2
Speed = 2.5 meter per hour

Related Links:
How to Calculate Distance with Speed and Time?
How to Calculate Time with Distance and Speed?

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