Questions: What Is Speed?

Question 1

A car travels 100 miles in 2 hours. What is its speed?

• A. 200 miles per hour
• B. 100 miles per hour
• C. 50 miles per hour
• D. 2 miles per hour

Answer: (C)

Speed equals distance divided by time: 100 miles ÷ 2 hours = 50 miles per hour.

Question 2

Speed tells you how far something has traveled.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Speed tells you how far something travels in a given amount of time, not just how far it has gone. Distance alone is not speed.

Question 3

What two measurements do you need to calculate speed?

Model answer: You need distance and time.

Speed is calculated by dividing the distance an object travels by the time it takes to travel that distance.