Silly Speed, Distance, Time Problems Name ______Pd____

Show all work, including dimensional analysis when needed!

Use a separate page to solve.

  1. The average speed of a dung beetle is 0.50 m/s. A piece of dung is located 10 m from the beetle. How long will it take for the beetle to reach its hearty meal?
  1. A 0.5 kg giant cockroach is 1 m away from your pizza lying on the table. The giant cockroach is moving at a rate of 0.5 m/s towards your pizza, and seems fairly intent on getting a free meal. How long (in seconds) do you have to move your pizza before the cockroach overtakes it?
  1. A walking catfish’s mudhole has just dried up. This particular species can only live 5 minutes out of water, and the nearest mudhole is 1000 m away. The average speed of this catfish is 1 m/s. Will the catfish make it to the nearby mudhole, or is he buzzard food? (Support your answer with calculations. Hint: use dimensional analysis to convert minutes into seconds).
  1. A 200 g Pikachu is running from a 5000 kg T-Rex who hasn’t eaten for a week. Pikachu is running for a cave 1000 meters away at a speed of 20 m/sec. If Pikachu can reach the cave, he will be safe. At his present speed, the T-Rex will overtake poor Pikachu in 25 sec. Will Pikachu survive, or will T-Rex need an after-dinner mint? (Support your answer with calculations.)
  1. Bubba Jenkins has a craving for some super salty pork rinds and must travel 10 miles away to the store to get them. Bubba wants to see his favorite bass fishing show which begins at 8:00 PM sharp. If he travels at an average speed of 50 miles/hr, and leaves his house at 7:20 PM, will he make it home in time to see the start of tonight’s special edition show featuring catfish grappling? (Support your answer with calculations. Hint: Pay particular attention to the distance you use.)
  1. Gary Getalifer left his 1st period band class at 9:25 AM, and is headed for his 2nd period English class which begins at 9:31 AM. If Gary walks at an average of 240 feet/min, and the distance he must travel is 1300 feet, is Gary going to have to go to the LAS to get a pass to be late or not? (Support your answer with calculations.)
  1. You are at the Pizza Hut buffet, patiently waiting for the cook to bring out another pizza to the buffet bar. You are sitting 9 meters away from the buffet, while a really large and really hungry WCW wrestler is waiting only 6 meters from the bar. The wrestler will travel at a speed of 3 m/sec towards the bar. At what speed must you travel to beat the wrestler to the bar?
  1. Jeff Gordon is still doing NASCAR racing today. Several years ago, Jeff Gordon completed 10 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway (a 2-mile oval track) in 378 seconds. What was Gordon’s average speed (in miles/hour) over that distance? (Hint: Use dimensional analysis to convert secondsto hours before you start.)
  1. The Comet Urintrouble is hurdling towards Earth at an average speed of 2000 meters/second, and has a mass of 50,000,000 tons. With this mass, the comet is sure to cause destruction of planet earth as we know it. When the comet passes a point 100,000 meters above the earth’s surface, how long do we have to live (in seconds)?
  2. The band Green Day left Atlanta after a quick concert at Phillips Arena at 11:00 PM on a Friday night, and headed for their next concert date in Miami, FL. While traveling south, the tour bus stopped at Taco Bell (for 1 hour), at Quik Trip (for 10 minutes), and at Alley Cat’s Alligator Farm (for 1 hour). The total distance covered during the trip to Miami was 800 miles, and took a total of 20 hours.

A) What was the average speed of the tour bus during the trip?

B) What time did the tour bus arrive in Miami? (Give day and time.)

  1. Little Lila Lastminut is 200 meters from home. It is now 9:59 PM, and she is supposed to be home by 10:00 PM. How fast must she travel in order to make it home in time and avoid cell phone restriction?
  1. Bart Simpson is standing 150 m from a monkey at a zoo, making faces at the monkey as he watches it eating its daily bananas in a tree. The mischievous andmuscular little monkey gets mad and hurls an unripe green banana at Bart. If the banana travels at a speed of 100 m/s, how much time does Bart have to move?
  1. Jamaican Usain Bolt set a world record in the 2008 Beijing Olympics running the 200 m in 19.30 seconds.

A)What is his speed in m/s?

B)What is his speed in meters/hour?

  1. The US swimmer Dara Torres won the silver medal for the women’s 50 m free swim in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with a time of 24.07 seconds. Britta Steffen of Germany set an Olympic Record and won the gold for this event with a time of 24.06 seconds.

A) Calculate the speeds of each swimmer.

B) By how much time did Steffen beat Torres in this event?

C) Did the precision and accuracy of these measurements make adifference?

  1. During class change, Nate Noluck spots a $100 bill on the floor 8 meters away. At that same moment Lucy Luckierthanu also sees the bill, but she is 6 meters away from the bill. If Lucy moves at 2 m/s to get the bill, how fast must Nate travel to reach the bill at the same time as Lucy?
  1. A cute little grey field mousethat is fast asleep has been spotted from a distance of 40 meters away by a 6 foot sidewinder snake. The sidewinder travels at a maximum speed of 8 m/s. How long does the cute little mouse have to wake up and get the heck out of dodge before becoming a cute little snake snack?
  1. You are walking down a road and spot a shiny quarter in the middle of the road. When you reach the prize, a Mack truck traveling at a speed of 100 km/hr reaches the top of the hill 100 m from you. How long (in seconds) do you have to save yourself, and the shiny quarter, from carnal destruction? (Hint: Use dimensional analysis.)