What is defined as the time rate of change of position of a body?

Velocity is defined as the time rate of change of position of a body. It encompasses not just the speed of the object but also the direction in which it is moving. This means that if an object moves a certain distance over a specific timeframe, the velocity gives a complete picture of that movement, indicating both how fast the object is traveling and where it is headed.

In the context of physics, understanding velocity is crucial because it helps describe the motion of objects in a comprehensive way, taking both speed and direction into account. This distinguishes it from other related concepts such as acceleration, which refers specifically to the rate of change of velocity, or momentum, which relates to the mass and velocity of an object but does not define how position is changing over time. Force, on the other hand, is the interaction that causes an object to accelerate, not a measure of its position change.