Name______date______

Calculating Distance, Time, and Speed

d = distancet = time interval= average speed

For each situation, identify or calculate the distance traveled, the time that passed, and the average speed while traveling. Do everything in meters, seconds, and meters per second.

Distance, d / Time, t / Avg. speed,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
  1. A person walks 6.0 meters in a time of 2.0 seconds.
  2. It takes 30 seconds for a bird to fly 120 meters.
  3. At 8:01 a jogger sets out. By 8:04 she has run 360 meters.
  4. A rock climber takes 10 minutes to climb 30 meters vertically.
  5. A ball rolls Z meters in 5.0 seconds. (Use your Z number if you have one. Or, let Z=3.0)
  1. Moving at an average speed of 30 meters/second, a van is driven for 5 seconds.
  2. A boat travels for 83 seconds at a speed of 2 m/s.
  3. At 4.0 meters per second, a bear runs for 4.0 seconds.
  4. The sound of a pin drop moves at 3.31 x 102 m/s. How far does it go in 1 second?
  1. A bear runs at 10 m/s for a distance of 20 meters.
  2. Yakko the yak walks 15.3 meters at an average speed of 5.1 meters each second.
  1. A sprinter runs 100 meters in 9.58 seconds (still the current world record as of 10/1/15).
  2. On June 20, 2012, Sarah the cheetah ran 100 meters much faster than that. Read the article to get her time: (click on this link, this link., or search for “sarah the cheetah breaks speed record”.) Note: while her top speed was 61 miles per hour (98 km/hour), her average speed was less. Find her average speed, in meters/second.
  3. It takes 12 seconds for Timmy to run down the hall at 2 m/s. How long is the hall?
  4. A skier starting from rest skis straight down a slope 50 meters long in 5 seconds.
  1. A beam of light moves at about 300,000,000 m/s for 3 seconds.
  2. How long does it take a leaf to fall from a 20 meter high tree branch at an average rate of 2 m/s?
  3. 40 seconds after a train passes a railway marker, the train has moved 1200 meters.
  4. An object falls from a height of 45 meters and travels at an average speed of 14.7 m/s.
  5. A car waits at a red light. After the light turns green, the car moves 406 meters in 21.2 seconds.

vinitial = initial speed

vfinal = final speed

v = change in speed from initial speed to final speed

To find the average speed, add the initial and final speeds and divide by two. This works as long as the speed is changing at a constant rate; for these problems assume that this is true.

In terms of equations, v = vf - vi and .

Initial speed, vinitial / Final speed, vfinal / Change in speed, v / Average speed, / Distance, d / Time, t
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
  1. A car starts at rest (vinitial = 0 m/s). After driving for 5 seconds it is moving at 20 m/s.
  1. A train increases its speed from 30 m/s to 40 m/s. It covers a distance of 70 meters while doing this.
  1. Buzzing along at 9.2 m/s, a mosquito feels tired, and decides to cut his speed back by about 2.0 m/s. It takes 3 seconds to do this.
  1. A girl is riding a bicycle at 7 m/s. She decides to increase her speed by 4 m/s. It takes 24 seconds to do this.
  1. A stationary ball is released at the top of a ramp. By the time it gets to the bottom of the ramp it is rolling at 4.0meters/sec. The ramp is 1.0 meter long. How long did it take to roll down the ramp?
  1. Initially a car moves forward at 26 m/s. The driver hits the brakes, and the car comes to a stop after skidding 53 meters.
  1. Initially at rest, a leaf falls 8 meters in 8 seconds. What is its final speed just before it hits the ground?
  1. An object is moving forward at a speed of 4.0 m/s. Then, it speeds up to 5.8 m/s. It does this pretty quickly, in a time of 0.2 seconds.