Assume you’re talking about an automobile that can travel 30 meters in a second. Do you believe this is sufficient knowledge to investigate additional physical quantities related to automobile motion? If you answered no, you are correct since simply stating that an item is moving is insufficient to explain its motion.
In this reality, physical quantities are either oriented or non-directional. Being a directed measure, velocity is a physical quantity. It not only indicates the speed at which the thing is going, but also the direction in which it is moving. The directions are essential in studying an object’s motion thoroughly.
This article will answer all of your velocity-related questions, from definition to velocity types. After reading this article, you will be able to deal with different types of velocity and compute problems involving velocity. The two main methods to compute the problems related to velocity are also mentioned in this post.
What is velocity?
“Velocity is the vector representation of speed. The velocity of an item describes its speed and direction.”
Or
“The pace at which a body changes position is referred to as velocity.”
Formula of velocity
If an object starts traveling from its original location to its endpoint and covers a distance d in time interval t, its velocity can be expressed as:
v = d / t
Where m denotes the unit of displacement and s denotes the unit of time.
The above-mentioned formula can also be reformed to calculate the time taken and displacement covered by the same object.
SI units
The International System of units is the most extensively used unit system (SI). According to this system, velocity is measured in meters per second (ms-1). Where m is the symbol of the unit of displacement and s is the symbol of the unit of time.
The impotence of velocity’s direction
The magnitude of an object’s velocity limits it from being studied. Two parameters determine the amount and direction of motion of a body. Velocity describes both the magnitude and the direction of motion. It’s much more accurate to say that the body is moving but in a specific direction.
Velocity-Types:
We are all aware that understanding an object’s motion helps analyze its motion. Two parameters define the amount and direction of a body’s motion. The magnitude of any physical quantity is its numerical value expressed in appropriate units and the direction represents its adopted path.
The object will only gain velocity if it escapes from its original place. So moving from one point to another consumes time. Based on the time consumed the velocity is divided into the following kinds.
Uniform velocity
Let us consider that a body starts moving from its initial point and it has to reach five equally distant destinations convectively. If it covers all the destinations in equal intervals let’s say in the 90s then the velocity of the body will be uniform.
Non-Uniform or variable velocity
Consider the above example once more. Now, if the body travels to the first destination in the 80s, the second in the 85s, the third in the 90s, the fourth in the 95s, and the fifth in the 90s, the body’s velocity will be non-uniform or varied since it is not traversing the same distance in the same amount of time.
Average velocity
In the above example, the average velocity will be the sum of the distance of five destinations divided by the sum of time taken by the body to cover all the destinations.
We cannot tell from average velocity whether the body stopped momentarily or backed up before he got to the final destination.
Instantaneous velocity
To cover the drawback of average velocity instantaneous velocity comes into the picture. To gather additional information, we need to look at smaller segments of the journey across shorter periods.
In the above case, the instantaneous velocity will be the distance covered till the first destination and dived time taken till the first destination.
Velocity related problems:
Example 1: For velocity
A hockey player hits the ball such that it covers 15m in 5s. Calculate the velocity of the ball.
Given data
Displacement = 15m
Time interval = 5s
To find
The velocity of the ball =?
Solution: Manual method
Put the given data values in general formula of velocity.
v = d / t
v = 15m / 5s
v = 3m/s
Hence the ball propagates with a velocity of 3m/s.
Now if you want to get rid of doing the above manual process use this velocity calculator which not only fastens your calculations but also makes your data more precise. The following process is used to compute the velocity.
Step 1: From the drop-down, the menu selects the physical quantity you want to calculate.
Step 2: Put the respective values and click on calculate button.
As a result, the above problem has been calculated in a very simple way.
Example 2: For velocity
A man having an iron block of mass of 10kg starts running and covers a distance of 50m. If the velocity of man is 7.5m/s then calculate the time to cover the distance.
Given data
Displacement = 5m
Velocity = v = 5m/s
To find
Time interval =?
Solution: Manual method
Put the given data values in general formula of velocity.
5ms-1 = 50m / t
t = 50m / 5ms-1
t = 10s
Hence the time interval to cover 50m is 10s.
Summary:
As a result of motion, most of the time, physics is concerned with objects moving in a specified direction. This article reflects that the study of the direction of the velocity of the body is not only significant for theoretical studies but also enables us to mentally understand the situation. With velocity elaborated now, you can examine the type of velocity.
We need a method for calculating how quickly an object is traveling, in which direction it is moving, where it will be in the next several seconds, and so on.
In this article, we learned two methods to solve the velocity-related problems one is the manual method and the other is the calculator method. You have the choice to use a kinetic energy calculator to fasten your longer calculations.