Definition of velocity:
Velocity is the speed of an object in a specific direction.
It tells how fast something is moving and where it’s going.
Unlike speed, velocity always includes direction (like 60 km/h east).
What is velocity? – Detailed Explanation
• Velocity is a measure of how quickly an object moves and in which direction.
• It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude (speed) and direction.
• For example, a car moving at 60 km/h north has a velocity of 60 km/h in the north direction.
• If the direction changes—even if the speed stays the same—the velocity changes.
• This is why objects moving in circles (like satellites) are said to have changing velocity, even if their speed stays constant.
• The SI unit of velocity is meters per second (m/s).
• Velocity can be positive or negative depending on the direction we choose as positive.
The formula for average velocity is:
Displacement
Velocity= ————————
Time taken
Where:
• Displacement is the straight-line distance from start to end with direction.
• Time is how long it took.
Where is velocity used?
• Driving and transportation: To know how fast and in what direction a car, train, or airplane is moving.
• Physics and motion studies: To understand how objects move, collide, or accelerate.
• Sports: To measure how fast a ball travels or how quickly an athlete moves in a certain direction.
• Weather: To describe wind velocity—how fast and in what direction the wind is blowing.
• Space travel: To guide rockets, satellites, and space probes with accurate speed and direction.
• Navigation: Boats and planes use velocity to stay on course over long distances.
• Engineering and robotics: Machines and robots are programmed with velocity to control precise movement.
Favourite part/ note/ summary- Velocity is the speed of an object in a specific direction. Velocity is used in transportation, physics and motion studies, sports, weather, space travel, navigation, engineering and robotics.
Formula for velocity is (velocity is equal to displacement by the time taken).
Can velocity be negative, and what does that mean?
When is the velocity of a thrown object exactly zero?
How does velocity affect the feeling of acceleration in a car or roller coaster?
What is escape velocity, and why is it important for space travel?
How is velocity used in GPS and navigation systems?
Why does direction matter when measuring velocity?
keywords
Instantaneous velocity
Average velocity
Uniform motion
Non-uniform motion
Relative velocity
Terminal velocity
Constant velocity
Kinematics
Newton's laws
Force and motion
Projectile motion
Circular motion
Escape velocity
Orbital velocity
GPS tracking
Radar speed detection
Roller coaster physics
Vehicle dynamics
Space travel
Free fall
Displacement by the time taken - Per unit of time how much distance travel. Question:
A car is traveling along a straight road. At 9:00 AM, it passes a checkpoint moving at a constant velocity of 60 km/h. At 9:30 AM, a second car starts from the same checkpoint, chasing the first car at a constant velocity of 90 km/h.
Question:At what time will the second car catch up to the first car?