Part 01 · Motion and measurement · Card 3 of 8
Speed
How far something travels each second. Speed = distance / time.
Last updated
Analogy
Like counting how many steps you take every second.
Example
Sprint sum
distance = 150 mtime = 20 sspeed = 150 / 20speed = 7.5 m/s
In practice
Speed cameras measure how quickly a car covers a known distance.
Practice
Flashcards
- What is the formula for speed?Speed = distance / time.
- Convert 36 km/h to m/s.36 / 3.6 = 10 m/s.
Questions people ask
How do you calculate average speed?
Divide the total distance by the total time taken. If a car travels 120 km in 2 hours, its average speed is 60 km/h. This is an average because the car may have gone faster on some parts of the trip and slower, or stopped, on others.
How do you change km/h into m/s?
Divide by 3.6. A speed of 72 km/h becomes 20 m/s. This works because one kilometre is 1,000 metres and one hour is 3,600 seconds, so you divide 1,000 by 3,600. To go back the other way, multiply by 3.6.