US Standard Speed (Velocity)
These are the most common measurements:
- Feet per Second (fps)
- Miles per Hour (mph)
Speed in feet per second (fps)
If something is traveling at 1 fps it moves 1 foot every second.
It is a very slow walking pace.
An hour and a half at 1 fps moves you about 1 mile.
Speed in miles per hour (mph)
If something is traveling at 1 mph it moves 1 mile every hour.
It is a slow walking pace.
One hour walking at 1 mph moves you 1 mile.
Miles per hour is often used for car speeds.
Example: Highway speed is around 60 mph
One minute at 60 mph will move you 1 mile.
Converting
You can convert from fps to mph:
- 1 mph = 1.4666... fps
- 1 fps = 0.68181818... mph
Example: What is 60 mph in fps?
A mile has 5,280 feet, and an hour has 3,600 seconds, so 60 miles per hour is:
- 60 x 5,280 / 3,600 = 88 fps
60 mph = 88 fps
Velocity
Velocity is speed with a direction.
So if something is moving at 5 mph that is a speed.
But if you say it is moving at 5 mph westwards that is a velocity.
If something moves backwards and forwards very fast it has a high speed, but a low (or zero) velocity
More Examples
60 mph is about:
- how fast you can legally go on a highway
- the maximum running speed of a cheetah
- the speed needed to drive one mile in a minute
- half the freefall speed of a skydiver
35 mph is about:
- the speed limit in the city
- going very fast on a bicycle
- the speed of a racehorse on a short track
- full running speed of a Bengal Tiger
1 foot per second is:
- exactly 0.3048 meters per second
- approximately 0.6818 miles per hour
- exactly 1.09728 km per hour