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Is Velocity a Scalar or Vector Quantity?

Answer – Velocity is a vector quantity.

Explanation: 

In physics, mechanical quantities can be classified as either scalars or vectors.

A scalar quantity only has a magnitude and no direction. Hence, it is unidimensional. Comparing two or more such quantities is simple and requires only their magnitudes to be assessed. Examples of scalars are temperature, mass, speed, and time, among others.

A vector quantity, on the other hand, has both a magnitude and a direction. Therefore, it is at least two-dimensional. Adding, subtracting, or multiplying similar vectors is more complicated than with scalars because a vector changes when its magnitude, direction, or both change.

Velocity is a vector quantity as it has both a magnitude and direction. An example of changing velocity would be a car that first moves north-west with a speed of 5 miles/hour and then moves south-east at the same speed. Other examples of vectors include displacement, acceleration, force, and momentum.


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