Sharpen your problem-solving skills with this quiz focused on time, distance, and speed concepts. Encounter practical questions designed to boost understanding of average speed, travel scenarios, and essential time-distance calculations.
A cyclist covers a distance of 90 km in 3 hours. What is the speed of the cyclist in kilometers per hour?
Explanation: Speed is calculated as distance divided by time, so dividing 90 km by 3 hours gives 30 km/h. 27 km/h and 33 km/h result from common mistakes in division or estimation. 35 km/h is higher than the actual speed and could come from miscalculating the numbers. Thus, 30 km/h is the correct and logical answer.
A train 120 meters long passes a platform of 180 meters in 15 seconds. What is its speed in meters per second?
Explanation: The train travels both its own length and the platform (120 + 180 = 300 meters) in 15 seconds, yielding a speed of 300 divided by 15, which is 20 m/s. 18 m/s and 16 m/s are common calculation errors from incorrect addition or division. 15 m/s is a distractor from dividing only the platform length by time. The correct answer is 20 m/s.
A car travels the first 40 km at 60 km/h and the next 60 km at 40 km/h. What is the average speed for the entire journey?
Explanation: Average speed is total distance divided by total time. The total distance is 100 km. Time for the first part is 40/60 = 0.6667 hours, and for the second part 60/40 = 1.5 hours, totaling about 2.1667 hours. Dividing 100 km by 2.1667 h gives roughly 48 km/h. 50 km/h and 52 km/h result from averaging the speeds or simple addition, not considering actual time taken. 45 km/h is an underestimate. The correct answer is 48 km/h.
Two people start from the same point and walk in opposite directions at speeds of 4 km/h and 6 km/h. What is the distance between them after 2 hours?
Explanation: When moving in opposite directions, relative speed is the sum: 4 + 6 = 10 km/h. In 2 hours, they cover 10 km/h x 2 = 20 km. 10 km and 8 km result from only using individual speeds or mixing up the operation. 12 km comes from incorrectly summing distances covered without correct multiplication. The accurate answer is 20 km.
Andrew and Ben start 42 km apart and walk towards each other at 5 km/h and 2 km/h, respectively. How long will it take before they meet?
Explanation: Their combined speed is 5 + 2 = 7 km/h. Time to meet is 42 km divided by 7 km/h, equaling 6 hours. 7 hours and 8 hours result from dividing by a single person's speed or making arithmetic errors. 5 hours is an underestimation, likely from confusion with subtracting instead of adding the speeds. 6 hours is the correct calculation.