What is instantaneous speed?

Instantaneous speed is defined as the speed of an object at a particular moment in time. It reflects how fast an object is moving without regard to how its speed may vary over a duration. This concept is crucial in physics because it allows us to analyze the motion of objects with precision, especially when speeds are not constant. For instance, when driving a car, the instantaneous speed can be observed on the speedometer, which shows how fast the vehicle is moving at that given moment.

This understanding is important in contexts such as motion graphs, where the slope of a position vs. time graph at any point indicates the instantaneous speed of an object. Consequently, knowing that this measurement is concerned with a specific moment and is distinct from average speed, which looks at an overall time interval, is key to grasping the concept of motion in physical science.