Have you ever noticed a moving train and thought, how is it moving? It is moving because of the speed. So what is speed? Speed is the way to measure how fast something is moving at a particular time. There are different ways to measure it. Thus today, we’ll learn how to calculate speed. Here we’ll discuss three methods of calculating speed. So let’s get started.
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Speed is the measure of distance over time.
To calculate the speed, there are two quantities – distance and time.
The equation : speed = distance/time
The three ways to calculate the speed:-
Using the Standard Speed Equation
- Find the distance traveled by an object
For the basics equation of how to calculate speed, first, you must have distance traveled by an object.
d = 10
- Find the time taken to cover the distance
The next piece of information that you need is the time taken by an object to travel a certain distance.
t = 5
- Divide the distance by the time to find the speed
The distance over time will give you the speed of the object.
s=d/t = 10/5 = 2
- It is important not to forget the units
Now label your answer with proper units. As without units, it is hard for others to understand what our answer means.
d= m, t=s, s=2m/s
Solving Intermediate Problems
- Divide up the identities to solve for distance and time
Once you know the equation to calculate speed, you can use different variables to find more than just speed.
speed = distance/time
speed × time = (distance/time) × time
speed × time = distance
20 km/h × 4 h = distance = 80 kilometers
- Convert your units as per the need
Sometimes you calculate the speed in one set of the unit but want to convert it in another unit. It is easier than you thought. Let’s see how.
80 km = 1/1.6 = 50 miles
- Replace the “distance” variable with distance formulas
Objects don’t always travel in a straight line. But the standard equation tells us about objects moving in a straight line. So now what to do?
Suppose a plane is flying in a circular path then use the following method to calculate its speed.
s = (2 × π × r)/t
s = (2 × π × 10)/2
s = 62.83/2 = 31.415 miles/hour
Ps:- Average Speed = d/t
Calculating Instantaneous Speed
Since speed is the magnitude of the velocity
- Use absolute values for negative velocities
- Take the derivative of a position function
- Take the integral of an acceleration function
So these were some methods to know how to calculate speed. For any further query, get instant online assignment help from professionals.