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Different from instantaneous speed, average speed is defined as the total distance covered divided by the time interval. For example, if a distance of 80 kilometres is driven in 1 hour, the average speed is 80 kilometres per hour. Likewise, if 320 kilometres are travelled in 4 hours, the average speed is also 80 kilometres per hour.
The mean speed theorem, also known as the Merton rule of uniform acceleration, [1] was discovered in the 14th century by the Oxford Calculators of Merton College, and was proved by Nicole Oresme. It states that a uniformly accelerated body (starting from rest, i.e. zero initial velocity) travels the same distance as a body with uniform speed ...
For instance, if a vehicle travels a certain distance d outbound at a speed x (e.g. 60 km/h) and returns the same distance at a speed y (e.g. 20 km/h), then its average speed is the harmonic mean of x and y (30 km/h), not the arithmetic mean (40 km/h). The total travel time is the same as if it had traveled the whole distance at that average speed.
The mean speed , most probable speed v p, and root-mean-square speed can be obtained from properties of the Maxwell distribution. This works well for nearly ideal, monatomic gases like helium, but also for molecular gases like diatomic oxygen.
Equation [3] involves the average velocity v + v 0 / 2 . Intuitively, the velocity increases linearly, so the average velocity multiplied by time is the distance traveled while increasing the velocity from v 0 to v, as can be illustrated graphically by plotting velocity against time as a straight line graph. Algebraically, it follows ...
Speed, the scalar magnitude of a velocity vector, denotes only how fast an object is moving, while velocity indicates both an object's speed and direction. [3] [4] [5] To have a constant velocity, an object must have a constant speed in a constant direction. Constant direction constrains the object to motion in a straight path thus, a constant ...
The most probable (or mode) speed is 81.6% of the root-mean-square speed , and the mean (arithmetic mean, or average) speed ¯ is 92.1% of the rms speed (isotropic distribution of speeds). See: Average, Root-mean-square speed; Arithmetic mean; Mean; Mode (statistics)
In the physics of gas molecules, the root-mean-square speed is defined as the square root of the average squared-speed. The RMS speed of an ideal gas is calculated using the following equation: v RMS = 3 R T M {\displaystyle v_{\text{RMS}}={\sqrt {3RT \over M}}}