ABSTRACT
The velocity of an object is the speed of the object in a specified direction. Thus, if a plane is flying due south at 500 kilometres per hour, its speed is 500 kilometres per hour, but its velocity is 500 kilometres per hour due south. Speed is a quantity that refers to ‘how fast an object is moving’. Speed can be thought of as the rate at which an object covers distance. A fast-moving object has a high speed and covers a relatively large distance in a short amount of time. Contrast this to a slow-moving object that has a low speed; it covers a relatively small amount of distance in the same amount of time. If a graph is plotted of speed against time, the area under the graph gives the distance travelled. A graph of velocity against time is called a velocity/time graph.
