Which term describes the speed and direction of an object's motion?

• A. Velocity
• B. Mass
• C. Air Resistance
• D. Static Friction

Answer: (A)

Velocity describes how fast something is moving and which way it’s going. It’s a vector, so it has both a magnitude (the speed) and a direction. For example, a car moving at 60 miles per hour toward the north has a velocity of 60 mph north. If you only say 60 mph, that’s speed—just how fast, with no direction.

Mass is how much matter an object has, not how it’s moving. Air resistance is the drag force that acts opposite to motion and slows things down, involving forces rather than just describing motion. Static friction is the force that keeps an object at rest until a threshold is passed, also about starting movement rather than describing ongoing motion.