Headings Forces and
Motion Search Questions 
gcsescience.com 1 gcsescience.com
Distance, Speed and Velocity.
Distance is a measure
of how far an object has travelled,
or how far away it is.
It is the same as length and is measured in metres.
Speed
is a measure of how fast an object is
moving.
It is measured in metres per second,
written as m/s.
Speed = Distance ÷ Time.
This equation is important!
If an object is stationary (not moving), then its speed is zero.
Velocity is similar to speed.
It is a measure of how fast an object is
moving,
and is also measured in m/s.
Velocity = Distance ÷ Time.
The difference between
velocity and speed is that
velocity is speed in a certain
direction.
If an object is moving in a straight
line,
then its speed and velocity will be the same.
If the moving object stays at the
same speed but changes
direction,
then we say that the velocity has
changed (because the direction has changed)
but the speed has stayed the same.
In most of the examples of
motion that you will come
across,
the object will be moving in a straight
line.
In this case, use the word velocity
rather than speed
(see the next
page for calculations).
Headings Forces and
Motion Search Questions
gcsescience.com Contents Index Quizzes gcsescience.com
Copyright © 2008 Dr. Colin France. All Rights Reserved.