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How To Understand Speed, Distance And Time

Education : Physics

When you are starting off studying physics at school, one of the relationships you often study is that between speed, distance and time. Therefore understanding it is key.

The equation is:
Speed = distance / time

Try re-arranging the equation to find our what distance is equal to, then what time is equal to.

When people run the 100m race, we are interested in the time they took to run it. We can use the time it took to work out the average speed they ran at, using the equation above. If a runner covers the 100m in 10 seconds exactly, what is their speed?

Answer: speed = 100m / 10s = 10 metres per second

Often in questions, you need to give the answer in particular units. For instance, you may be asked to give the answer above in kilometres per hour. How would you perform this conversion?

The best way is to convert one unit at a time. For instance, to get from metres to kilometres, first divide by 1,000, to get 10/1000 km/s. Then, to get to km/h, multiply by 3,600. The result: 36 kilometres per hour.


By: Stephen

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