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12.2 Velocity and Speed

Speed

To determine the speed of an object, you need to know the distance traveled and the time taken to travel that
distance. However, by rearranging the formula for speed, v = d/t, you can also determine the distance traveled
or the time it took for the object to travel that distance, if you know the speed. For example,
Equation... Gives you... If you know...

v = d/t speed distance and time

d=v×t distance speed and time

t = d/v time distance and speed

Use the SI system to solve the practice problems unless you are asked to write the answer using the English
system of measurement. As you solve the problems, include all units and cancel appropriately.

Example 1: What is the speed of a cheetah that travels 112.0 meters in 4.0 seconds?

Looking for Solution

Speed of the cheetah.

Given
Distance = 112.0 meters
The speed of the cheetah is 28 meters per second.
Time = 4.0 seconds

Relationship
Example 2: There are 1,609 meters in one mile. What is this cheetah’s speed in miles/hour?

Looking for Solution

Speed of the cheetah in miles per hour.

Given
Distance = 112.0 meters The speed of the cheetah in miles per hour is 63 mph.

Time = 4.0 seconds

Relationships

and 1, 609 meters = 1 mile

1. A bicyclist travels 60.0 kilometers in 3.5 hours. What is the cyclist’s average speed?

Looking for Solution

averafge
speed s=d/t
s=60/3.5
Given
distance and time = 17.1km/h

Relationships
d/t

2. What is the average speed of a car that traveled 300.0 miles in 5.5 hours? 54.5mph
3. How much time would it take for the sound of thunder to travel 1,500 meters if sound travels at a speed of
330 m/s?
4. How much time would it take for an airplane to reach its destination if it traveled at an average speed of 790
kilometers/hour for a distance of 4,700 kilometers? What is the airplane’s speed in miles/ hour?
5. How far can a person run in 15 minutes if he or she runs at an average speed of 16 km/hr?
(HINT: Remember to convert minutes to hours.)

6. In problem 5, what is the runner’s distance traveled in miles?

7. A snail can move approximately 0.30 meters per minute. How many meters can the snail cover in 15
minutes?

8. You know that there are 1,609 meters in a mile. The number of feet in a mile is 5,280. Use these equalities
to answer the following problems:

a. How many centimeters equals one inch?

b. What is the speed of the snail in problem 7 in inches per minute?

9. Calculate the average speed (in km/h) of a car stuck in traffic that drives 12 kilometers in 2 hours.
10. How long would it take you to swim across a lake that is 900 meters across if you swim at 1.5 m/s?

a. What is the answer in seconds?

b. What is the answer in minutes?

11. How far will you travel if you run for 10 minutes at 2 m/s?
12. You have trained all year for a marathon. In your first attempt to run a marathon, you decide that you want
to complete this 26-mile race in 4.5 hours.

a. What is the length of a marathon in kilometers (1 mile = 1.6 kilometers)?

b. What would your average speed have to be to complete the race in 4.5 hours? Give your answer in
kilometers per hour.

13. Suppose you are walking home after school. The distance from school to your home is five kilometers. On
foot, you can get home in 25 minutes. However, if you rode a bicycle, you could get home in 10 minutes.

a. What is your average speed while walking?

b. What is your average speed while bicycling?

c. How much faster you travel on your bicycle?

14. Suppose you ride your bicycle to the library traveling at 0.5 km/min. It takes you 25 minutes to get to the
library. How far did you travel?

15. You ride your bike for a distance of 30 km. You travel at a speed of 0.75 km/ minute. How many minutes
does this take?
16. A train travels 225 kilometers in 2.5 hours. What is the train’s average speed?

17. An airplane travels 3,260 kilometers in 4 hours. What is the airplane’s average speed?
18 A person in a kayak paddles down river at an average speed of 10 km/h. After 3.25 hours, how far has she
traveled?
19. The same person in question 18 paddles upstream at an average speed of 4 km/h. How long would it take
her to get back to her starting point?
20. An airplane travels from St. Louis, Missouri to Portland, Oregon in 4.33 hours. If the distance traveled is
2,742 kilometers, what is the airplane’s average speed?

21. The airplane returns to St. Louis by the same route. Because the prevailing winds push the airplane along,
the return trip takes only 3.75 hours. What is the average speed for this trip?
22. The airplane refuels in St. Louis and continues on to Boston. It travels at an average speed of 610 km/h. If
the trip takes 2.75 hours, what is the flight distance between St. Louis and Boston?
23. The speed of light is about 3.00 × 105 km/s. It takes approximately 1.28 seconds for light reflected from the
moon to reach Earth. What is the average distance from Earth to the moon?

24. The average distance from the sun to Pluto is approximately 6.10 × 109 km. How long does it take light
from the sun to reach Pluto? Use the speed of light from the previous question to help you.
25. Now, make up three speed problems of your own. Give the problems to a friend to solve and check their
work.

a. Make up a problem that involves solving for average speed.

b. Make up a problem that involves solving for distance.

c. Make up a problem that involves solving for time.

Velocity
Speed and velocity do not have the same meaning to scientists. Speed is a scalar quantity, which means it can
be completely described by its magnitude (or size). The magnitude is given by a number and a unit. For
example, an object’s speed may be measured as 15 meters per second.

Velocity is a vector quantity. In order to measure a vector quantity, you must know the both its magnitude and
direction. The velocity of an object is determined by measuring both the speed and direction in which an object
is traveling.
• If the speed of an object changes, then its velocity also changes.
• If the direction in which an object is traveling changes, then its velocity changes.
• A change in either speed, direction, or both causes a change in velocity.

You can use v = d/t to solve velocity problems in the same manner that you changed the form of the equation to
solve speed problems in Part A. The boldfaced v is used to represent velocity as a vector quantity. The variables
d and t are used for distance and time. The velocity of an object in motion is equal to the distance it travels
per unit of time in a given direction.

Example 1: What is the velocity of a car that travels 100.0 meters, northeast in 4.65 seconds?

Looking for Solution

Velocity of the car.

Given
The velocity of the car is 21.5 meters per second,
Distance = 100.0 meters northeast.

Time = 4.65 seconds

Relationship
Example 2: A boat travels with a velocity equal to 14.0 meters per second, east in 5.15 seconds. What distance
in meters does the boat travel?

Looking for Solution

Distance the boat travels.

Given
The boat travels 72.1 meters.
Velocity = 14.0 meters per second, east

Time = 5.15 seconds

Relationship

1. An airplane flies 525 kilometers north in 1.25 hours. What is the airplane’s velocity?

Looking for Solution

Given

Relationship

2. A soccer player kicks a ball 6.5 meters. How much time is needed for the ball to travel this distance if its
velocity is 22 meters per second, south?
3. A cruise ship travels east across a river at 19.0 meters per minute. If the river is 4,250 meters wide, how
long does it take for the ship to reach the other side?
4. Joaquin mows the lawn at his grandmother’s home during the summer months. Joaquin measured the
distance across his grandmother’s lawn as 11.5 meters.

a. If Joaquin mows one length across the lawn from east to west in 7.10 seconds, then what is the velocity of
the lawnmower?

b. Once he reaches the edge of the lawn, Joaquin turns the lawnmower around. He mows in the opposite
direction but maintains the same speed. What is the velocity of the lawnmower?
5. A family drives 881 miles from Houston, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico for vacation. How long will it
take the family to reach their destination if they travel at a velocity of 55.0 miles per hour, northwest?
6. A shopping cart is pushed 15.6 meters west across a parking lot in 5.2 seconds. What is the velocity of the
shopping cart?
7. Katie and her best friend Liam play tennis every Saturday morning. When Katie serves the ball to Liam, it
travels 9.5 meters south in 2.1 seconds.

a. What is the velocity of the tennis ball?

b. If the tennis ball travels at constant speed, what is its velocity when Liam returns Katie’s serve?

8. A driver realizes that she is traveling in the wrong direction on a one-way street. She has already driven 3.5
meters at a velocity of 16 meters per second, east before deciding to make a U-turn. How long did it take for
the driver to realize her error?
9. Juan’s mother drives 12.5 miles southwest to her favorite shopping mall. What is the velocity of her
automobile if she arrives at the mall in 7.25 minutes?
10. A bus is traveling at 79.7 kilometers per hour east, how far does the bus travel 1.45 hours?
11. A girl scout troop hiked 5.8 kilometers southeast in 1.5 hours.What was the troop’s velocity?
12. A volcanologist noted that a lahar rushed down a mountain at 32.2 kilometers per hour, south. How far did
the mud flow in 17.5 minutes?