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Mr Davis 97
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Since kinetic energy is in is a scalar quantity in joules, then is the v in (1/2)mv2 speed or velocity?
Either will work. If it is taken as a scalar then you would use scalar multiplication to compute v2 If it is taken as a vector then the vector dot product ##v{\cdot}v## will produce the same result.Mr Davis 97 said:Since kinetic energy is in is a scalar quantity in joules, then is the v in (1/2)mv2 speed or velocity?
The kinetic energy formula is K = 1/2 * m * v^2, where K is the kinetic energy, m is the mass of the object, and v is the velocity or speed of the object.
In the kinetic energy formula, v represents the speed of the object. Velocity is a vector quantity that includes both speed and direction, while speed is a scalar quantity that only measures the rate of motion.
The speed is squared in the kinetic energy formula because kinetic energy is directly proportional to the square of the object's speed. This means that doubling the speed will result in four times the amount of kinetic energy.
The unit of measurement for v in the kinetic energy formula is meters per second (m/s). This is the standard unit for speed in the metric system.
Yes, the kinetic energy formula can be used for objects with varying speeds. However, it is important to note that the formula assumes a constant speed and does not take into account changes in speed over time. For objects with varying speeds, the average speed can be used in the formula to calculate the kinetic energy.