Speed=Distance/Time
Contents
Key Stage 3
Meaning
\(Speed = {\frac{distance}{time}} \) is an equation which can be used to calculate the speed of an object given the distance traveled and the time taken to travel that distance.
About Speed=Distance/Time
- The standard scientific units for measuring speed are metres per second (m/s).
- The units of speed are given by the units of distance used and the units of time used in the calculation.
\(Speed = {\frac{distance}{time}} \)
\(Speed = {\frac{metres}{seconds}} \)
\(Speed = {\frac{m}{s}} \)
\(Speed = m/s \)
Example Calculations
A person jogs 300 metres in 120 seconds. Calculate the speed of the jogger. | A racing car travels 500 metres in 10 seconds. Calculate the speed of the racing car. |
distance = 300m time = 120s \(Speed = {\tfrac{distance}{time}} \) \(Speed = {\tfrac{300}{120}} \) \(Speed = 2.5m/s \) |
distance = 500m time = 10s \(Speed = {\tfrac{distance}{time}} \) \(Speed = {\tfrac{500}{10}} \) \(Speed = 50m/s \) |
A horse takes 20 minutes to trot 2.4 kilometres. Calculate the speed of the horse in metres per second. | The International Space Station takes 92 minutes to orbit the Earth once travelling 42,000 kilometres. Calculate the speed of the ISS. |
distance = 2.4km = 2400m time = 20min = 1200s \(Speed = {\tfrac{distance}{time}} \) \(Speed = {\tfrac{2400}{1200}} \) \(Speed = 2m/s \) |
distance = 42,000km = 42,000,000m time = 20min = 5400s \(Speed = {\tfrac{distance}{time}} \) \(Speed = {\tfrac{42000000}{5400}} \) \(Speed = 7608.7m/s \) \(Speed \approx 7600m/s \) |