Speed, distance, time

Maths, Ratio. Usually met in years 8 to 11.

Use speed, distance and time, including minutes, average speed over two stages, and changing units.

What you practise

Speed = distance ÷ time
Converting minutes to hours
Average speed and changing km/h to m/s

Starts with whole hours and finishes with unit conversion and average speed. Practice moves up a level when a round goes well and down when it does not.

Sample questions

Each sample comes with the method and the reason every wrong option is wrong. Real practice rounds are ten questions at your level.

Sample question, level 2 of 5

A cyclist rides at 62 km/h for 6 hours. How far do they go?

372 km
68 km
382 km
10.333 km
56 km

Show the answer and method

Answer: A, 372 km

The method: Distance = speed × time = 62 × 6 = 372 km.

Why the other options are wrong:

B, 68 km: The speed and time were added.
C, 382 km: Close, but check your working: this is a small slip away from the answer.
D, 10.333 km: The speed was divided by the time.
E, 56 km: The time was taken from the speed.

Sample question, level 4 of 5

A journey is split into two equal distances. The first is driven at 38 km/h and the second at 114 km/h. What is the average speed for the whole journey?

59 km/h
76 km/h
152 km/h
57 km/h
55 km/h

Show the answer and method

Answer: D, 57 km/h

The method: Pick a distance for each half, such as the lowest common multiple of 38 and 114, and work out the times. Total distance ÷ total time = 57 km/h. (It is not the mean of 38 and 114.)

Why the other options are wrong:

A, 59 km/h: Close, but check your working: this is a small slip away from the answer.
B, 76 km/h: The speeds were subtracted.
C, 152 km/h: The speeds were added.
E, 55 km/h: Close, but check your working: this is a small slip away from the answer.

See where this fits: GCSE maths with AQA and Key Stage 3.