Sharpen your understanding of speed, time, and distance with this beginner-friendly quiz designed to boost your problem-solving skills. Explore key formulas and real-world scenarios to reinforce your grasp of basic motion concepts in mathematics.
A car travels 120 kilometers in 3 hours. What is its average speed in kilometers per hour?
Explanation: Average speed is calculated by dividing total distance by total time. Here, 120 kilometers divided by 3 hours equals 40 kilometers per hour. Option 36 results from a common miscalculation, 60 comes from switching time and distance, and 33 is a rounding error. Only 40 is the correct answer.
If a train moves at a constant speed of 50 km/h for 4 hours, how far does it travel?
Explanation: Distance equals speed multiplied by time: 50 km/h times 4 hours gives 200 kilometers. Option 54 and 12.5 both result from incorrect multiplications, while 150 happens if the speed is mistakenly taken as 37.5 km/h. The only correct option is 200.
How long will it take a cyclist traveling at 15 km/h to cover 45 kilometers?
Explanation: Time is found by dividing distance by speed: 45 kilometers divided by 15 km/h equals 3 hours. Option 4 suggests adding instead of dividing, 2 comes from an incorrect calculation, and 6 is double the actual answer. The right choice is 3.
A runner completes a 1,500 meter race in 5 minutes. What is her average speed in meters per second?
Explanation: First, convert 5 minutes to 300 seconds. Then divide 1,500 meters by 300 seconds to get 5 meters per second. Option 4 comes from dividing by 375, 3.5 results from an error in multiplication, and 6 comes from dividing 1,800 meters by 300. Only 5 meters per second is correct.
Two people start walking towards each other from 100 meters apart at speeds of 2 m/s and 3 m/s. How many seconds until they meet?
Explanation: Their combined speed is 2 m/s plus 3 m/s, so 5 m/s. Time is distance divided by speed: 100 divided by 5 is 20 seconds. Option 25 and 33 come from dividing by just one speed, and 18 comes from an arithmetic mistake. The correct time is 20 seconds.
A bus travels 90 kilometers at 30 km/h. How many minutes does the journey take?
Explanation: The bus takes 3 hours (90 divided by 30), which is 180 minutes. Option 90 happens if you forget to convert hours to minutes, 120 is an incorrect calculation, and 60 comes from using the wrong time. Thus, 180 minutes is the right answer.
A train moving at 80 km/h takes 6 hours for a journey. If the speed is reduced to 60 km/h, what will be the new travel time?
Explanation: First, calculate the distance: 80 km/h × 6 hours = 480 km. At 60 km/h, time required is 480 km divided by 60 km/h, which is 8 hours. Option 7 is a calculation error, 6 is the original time, and 5 is simply incorrect. So, 8 hours is correct.
A car covers half the journey at 60 km/h and the other half at 40 km/h. What is its average speed for the entire trip?
Explanation: The average speed for equal distances at two different speeds is 2xy/(x+y). Here, 2×60×40/(60+40) equals 48 km/h. Option 50 is a plain average, 52 comes from incorrect application, and 30 is much too low. The correct average speed is 48.
Alice walks to school at 4 km/h and returns running at 8 km/h. What is her average speed for the whole trip?
Explanation: The average speed is 2×4×8/(4+8), resulting in 5.33 km/h. Option 6 is the average of the two speeds, 4 is only her walking speed, and 7 is an unrelated calculation. The correct answer is 5.33.
A boy runs for 30 minutes at 10 km/h. How many kilometers does he cover?
Explanation: Half an hour (30 minutes) at 10 km/h covers 5 kilometers because time in hours is 0.5 and 10 × 0.5 = 5. Option 3 comes from dividing speed by time, 10 is the full hourly distance, and 15 is an overestimation. The correct travel distance is 5.