We explain what speed is and some characteristics of this scalar magnitude. Also, a practical example on speed.
What is speed?
The speed is the variation of distance in a certain time as a consequence of the movement of a moving element. The term "mobile" in this case can range from a machine (such as a car) to a particle as aelectron or any other body capable of moving in space.
Speed is a scalar quantity and not vector, as opposed to speed. This means that it has a value and a unit, but not an address. In short, speed is the absolute value of speed.
For example, if we say that a bus is moving along an avenue with a speed of 82 km / h, we know that the value of the speed is 82 and its unit is km / h (kilometers per hour), but we do not know by what direction does. That is, once a certain weather We will know how far it traveled, or vice versa, how long it took to travel a certain distance, but we will not know where it is located in space.
Although the term is expressed as distance / time, this does not mean that during the time interval studied, the mobile has moved with the same speed. This magnitude could have varied infinitely, but the average of the magnitudes is the one of interest.