How Are Speed and Velocity Similar?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 24, 2020

Speed and velocity are similar in that they are measured in the same measurement units, which are meters per second. However, velocity and speed are very different quantities because one has a direction and the other one does not.

Speed is a scalar quantity and is given by the formula distance (d) divided by the time (t), or speed = d/t. Speed does not have a direction like velocity, which is a vector quantity. The formula for velocity is the change in distance divided by the change in time, or displacement divided by the time interval. When giving the velocity of an object, the direction must also be stated. So, velocity can be thought of as an object’s speed and its direction.