Calculating Speed Practice

What is speed a measure of?

• The force an object exerts over time.

• The distance an object travels in a certain time.

• The acceleration of an object over a given distance.

• The mass of an object relative to its velocity.

Which formula correctly calculates speed?

• Speed = Time / Distance

• Speed = Distance × Time

• Speed = Distance / Time

• Speed = Force × Distance

What is the formula to calculate speed?

• s = t/d

• s = d/t

• s = d + t

• s = d - t

Speed can be measured in using the following units:

• Miles per hour (m/h)

• Kilometers per hour (km/h)

• Meters per second (m/s)

• None of these

It takes a cyclist 2 hours to travel 43 km. What is the cyclist’s average speed in km/h?

• 21.5 km/h

• 20 km/h

• 43 km/h

• 22.5 km/h

Roberta observes a caterpillar crawling across a tree branch. She estimates that the caterpillar traveled 60 cm in 60 seconds. What is the average speed of the caterpillar?

• 1 cm/s

• 0.1 cm/s

• 10 cm/s

• 60 cm/s

Leon runs 65 meters in 14 seconds. His sister Lynette runs 60 meters in 12 seconds. Find the rate of speed for both siblings. Who ran faster?

• Lynette is faster. Lynette’s speed is 5 m/s and Leon’s is 4.6 m/s.

• Leon is faster. Leon’s speed is 5.5 m/s and Lynette’s is 4.8 m/s.

• Both have the same speed of 5 m/s.

• Leon is faster. Leon’s speed is 4.6 m/s and Lynette’s is 4.5 m/s.

Challenge: The speed of light is 299,792,458 m/s. Earth is about 150 million km from the sun. How long does it take for sunlight to travel from the sun to Earth? Hint: Convert the speed of light to km/s. Then rewrite the formula s = d/t to find the time.

• about 500 seconds

• about 50 seconds

• about 5,000 seconds

• about 5 seconds