Question

can the speed of the body be negative? explain with an example

Answer 1

the direction in which the body is initially moving or, the direction in which the body is initially accelerating is the direction which is considered positive. If the body, under the influence of any force, starts to move in opposite direction, its velocity is negative because the direction is opposite of the positive direction.

But , we know
Speed = distance/ time,
and distance is always positive, time is always positive, so speed can never be negative because it is a scalar quantity, speed does not take direction into consideration.

while,
velocity= displacement/time,
displacement can be negative if the body moves in opposite direction because it is a vector quantity and so it is dependent on direction. So accordingly, velocity can be negative.