Final answer:
A rate is how a quantity varies over time, with speed being a common example that expresses distance traveled per unit of time. To find average speed, divide the total distance by the elapsed time. Speed is a scalar quantity indicating how fast an object is moving without referencing direction.
Step-by-step explanation:
A rate is defined as a measure of how some property changes over time. In the context of physics, speed is one of the familiar rates that is often discussed. It is the distance traveled by an object divided by the time it takes to travel that distance.
Units like meter per second (m/s) or kilometers per hour (km/h) are used to express this rate. For example, if a car travels 100 kilometers in 2 hours, its average speed would be 50 km/h.
This rate of speed gives us a simple way to understand motion over time.
To calculate average speed, we divide the total distance traveled by the elapsed time.
Average speed is a scalar quantity without a direction associated with it. It's important to note that this is different from velocity, which is a vector quantity that does include directional information.
Whether we are discussing a race car moving at high speeds on a track or a chemical reaction where we look at the rate at which reactants are consumed, rates provide insight into various aspects of the world around us.
They are fundamental in many areas of science and daily life, such as calculating wages or understanding how fast different processes occur.