SPEED IS A SCALAR
 

The standard unit of speed is the meter per second (m/s). A car driving along Route 52 might have a cruise control device that you can set at, say, 25 m/s. Then, assuming that the cruise control works properly, you will be traveling, relative to the pavement, at a constant speed of 25 m/s. This will be true whether you are on a level straightaway, rounding a curve, cresting a hill, or passing the bottom of a valley. Speed can be expressed as a simple number, and the direction is not important. Thus speed is a scalar quantity. In this discussion, let’s symbolize speed by the lowercase italic letter v. Speed can, of course, change with time. If you hit the brakes to avoid a deer crossing the road, your speed will decrease suddenly. As you pass the deer, relieved to see it bounding off into a field unharmed, you pick up speed again.
Speed can be considered as an average over time or as an instantaneous quantity. In the foregoing example, suppose that you are moving along at 25 m/s and then see the deer, put on the brakes, slow down to a minimum of 10 m/s, watch the deer run away, and then speed up to 25 m/s again, all in a time span of 1 minute. Your average speed over that minute might be 17 m/s. However, your instantaneous speed varies from instant to instant and is 17 m/s for only two instants (one as you slow down, the other as you speed back up).