Speed, Velocity, and Acceleration | Physics of Motion Explained

Speed, velocity, and acceleration can be confusing concepts, but if you have a few minutes, I'll clear it all up for you.

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Thanks for stopping by! I’m Virgil Ricks, and this is 2 minute classroom.
Today we are talking about motion, specifically speed, velocity, and acceleration.
Let’s clear a few things up right off the bat. Speed and velocity ARE different. And acceleration is much more than “speeding up”

Speed is the rate at which something changes position. It’s represented as distance over time. M/h, Km/h, and m/s are examples of units for speed. If you’re driving 72 mph in your car, then that is your speed, in fact, it’s your instantaneous speed, which is the speed you are traveling at that exact moment. If you get to the end of your trip and discover it took you 2 hours to go 120 miles, you overall speed was 60 mph. This is your average speed.

Velocity is a lot like speed except for one important difference, it is a vector, meaning it has a direction. So while your speed may have been 72 mph, your velocity was 72 mph east, or 72 mph toward the ocean. There just has to be some direction attached to the speed to make it a velocity.

With that knowledge in hand you can now understand acceleration, which is simply the rate at which velocity changes. It’s units are distance per time per time, or distance per time squared. m/s2 for example. Any time you change velocity you are accelerating. This includes speeding up and slowing down (which is called negative acceleration). But direction is also a component of velocity, so when you change direction you are accelerating, even if your speed does not change. Does that blow your mind?

Alright, let’s recap. Speed is the rate at which something moves, distance over time. Velocity is speed with a direction, so distance over time with a specific direction. And acceleration, the king of them all, is distance over time squared, aka the rate at which velocity changes. Whether you are speeding up, slowing down, or changing directions, you are changing your velocity and thus, accelerating.

[dot]

This was better than the 1 hour explanation In my classroom thank you!!!

[weebboiii]

this 2 minute vid has explained more than a whole month of physics, thanks
(btw nice moustache)

[jusolaz]

2 semesters with physics, and i couldnt find yet a teacher like you.

[expiredramennoodles]

It’s amazing how I spent a whole 90 minute lecture trying to figure out which was which and then just watching a short video and understanding everything.

[saimagillani]

1) rate of change of distance=speed
2)rate of changecof speed=velocity
3)rate of change of velocity=acceleration

[sainteddd]

Someone as lazy as me cannot spend more than 5 minutes learning about something and you said it with such simple grammar that I can actually understand unlike another other videos thanks

[theshaarawyfamily]

I clicked on this video just because of his mustache and then I found the best explanation of this topic ever

[jmckay]

My wife always thinks I’m looking at girls late at night but I’m learning the difference between speed, velocity and acceleration.

[JerryTheEverything]

For just 2 minutes, this video taught me way more than a whole class period. Thanks!
(also nice mustache dude)

[mariemagdy]

its actually really effective teaching, better than my teacher
**i hope she doesn't see this XD XD**

[armaanzia]

Really appreciating all doubts are cleared. Thank you, sir!

[XaiylynRoblox]

Science was so confusing for me before, and two hour semesters arent any help, but this short video increased my grades by 10% :D

[sethikavihas]

I'd been trying to understand what acceleration is for some time. With your quick guide, I could understand it within minutes.Thank You! 😊

[elliecrabbe]

THANK YOU!!!! These basics go overlooked too often

[avgamer]

in my school my teacher explained for like 4 lesson and it just flew out of my mind your 2 minute video is much better😁😁

[maddieriddle]

my teacher couldn't make me understand this in a week, you just did it in 2 minutes!! thankyou so much :)

[StealthyCrab]

crash course is usually good but physics is rubbish. 2 minute classroom u are an absolute legend

[lereverse]

Thanks wish me luck for my exam tomorrow!

[dara_]

motion : change in position wrt time
speed : distance / time
velocity : speed w/direction
acceleration: change in speed and/or direction ( sounds like speeding up, but incl slowing down as well 👻

[hectorzwasif]

thanks, have a test soon wish me luck