Time, Speed & Distance

BASIC RELATIONS

Distance: The numerical description of “How far

two objects” is called distance. It may also refer
to the length between two points that may be
present or may get created.

Time: It is a component to compare the

“durations of events” and the “intervals”
between them and to quantify the motions of
objects.
So, what is speed?
Suppose a man walks a distance of 10
kilometres and he takes 2 hours to walk the
distance, the speed of the man is defined as the
distance travelled by him in unit time.
Here, we can say that the man travels 5
kilometres for every hour thereby completing
the journey of 10 kilometres in 2 hours. The
speed of the man is the rate at which he travels
the specified distance.
Formulating the above, we get

•Speed =Distance/Time
Hence, speed is defined as the distance travelled
by a particle in unit time.

•Time =Distance/Speed

•Distance = Speed x Time

UNITS OF SPEED AND THEIR CONVERSION
Standard Units
The standard units of speed are as follows.
Unit Symbols
metres per second m/s
kilometres per hour km/h
miles per hour m/h

1 kilometre = 1000 metres

1 mile = 1.60934 kilometres or 1.6 kilometres
1 hour = 60 min = 3600 seconds
• km/hr to m/s conversion:
1 kmph = 5 m/s
18

• m/s to km/hr conversion:

1 m/s = 18 m/s
5
Example:
Ajay takes 3 hours to travel from City A to City B at his normal
speed. However, he can travel the same distance in 2 hours by
travelling at 'x' km/h. Find the normal speed of Ajay if the
difference between the speeds is 20 km/h.
Solution:
Here, distance is constant and we can find the ratio of the
speeds by inversing the ratio of the time taken, T1:T2 = 3:2
Hence, the ratio of the speeds is given by,
S1:S2 = 2:3
From the question, we know that the difference between the
speeds is 20 km/h.
So, from the ratio S1:S2, we get = 2x:3x,
where the difference is x = 20 km/h
• Therefore, by substituting the value of x we
find that the speeds S1, S2 are 40 km/h and 60
km/h respectively.
• Hence, the normal speed of Ajay is 40 km/h.
(ii) Time is constant, Speed and Distance are
directly proportional

S∝D (when time is constant)

For a given time, the distance travelled by a

particle increases with the increase in its speed.
Example:
Two cars start from A and B travel towards each other at
speeds of 50 km/h and 60 km/h respectively. At the time of
their meeting, the second car has travelled 12 kms more
than the first. Find the distance between A and B ?

Solution:
Starting at the same time but from different points, the time
taken by the cars to reach the meeting point are equal.
Hence, it can be inferred that the time is constant for both
the cars to reach the meeting point.
The ratio of the speeds of car A to car B is S1:S2 =50:60= 5:6
The ratio of the distance travelled by them is D1:D2 = 5:6
From the question, we find that the car B has
travelled 12 kilometres more than the car A
which is the difference between the distances
travelled by the cars as reflected in the ratio
5x:6x.
So, 5x ∼ 6x = x = 12
The total distance i.e. the distance between A
and B is 5x + 6x = 11x = 11 × 12 = 132 kilometres
Therefore, the distance between A and B is 132
kilometres.
Example:
If the car had gone from A to B at 50 kmph and
returned from B to A at 60 kmph, what would be
the average speed?
Solution:
Let d be the A – B distance,
Then the average speed = d + d/ t1 + t2
= 2d / {(d/s1) + (d/s2)}
= 2* s1*s2 / (s1 + s2)
= 2 * 50 * 60 / (50 + 60)
= 54 6/11 kmph.
Example:
A boy goes to school at a speed of 3 km/hr and
returns to village at 2 km/hr. If he takes 5 hours,
what is the distance between the school and the
village?
Solution:
Distance between school and village is
= 5 * (3*2) / (3+2)
= 6 km
Example:
A man covers a certain distance between his
house and office on bike. Having an average
speed of 30 km/hr, he is late by 10 minutes.
However, with a speed of 40 km/hr, he reaches
his office 5 minutes earlier. Find the distance
between his house and office?
Solution 1:
Difference in time;
10+5 = 15 minutes = 15/60 hours = 0.25 hours
The required distance = (30×40)x0.25/(40-30)
= 30 km
Solution 2:
(d/30) -(d/40) = 15 /60
(4d - 3d) / 120 = 1/4
d = 30 km

Solution 3:
Speed Ratio = 3 : 4
Time Ratio = 4 : 3
diff = 1 part = 15 min
Hence time taken = 60 min & 40 min
Distance covered = 30 km in 60 min = 30 km.
Finding Speed or Time Required after Crossing Each
Other
Application:
If two persons or trains A and B start their journey at the
same time from two points P and Q towards each other
and after crossing each other they take a and b hours in
reaching Q and P respectively, then

Note: Using this relationship you can find out the missing
variables which can be either speed or time. Once these
are known you can easily find the distance.
Example:
Two, trains, one from Howrah to Patna and the
other from Patna to Howrah, start
simultaneously. After they meet, the trains
reach their destinations after 9 hours and 16
hours respectively. The ratio of their speeds is:
Solution:
The ratio of their speed is √16/√9 = 4/3 or 4:3
 Question
A person crosses a 600 m long street in 5
minutes. What is his speed in km per hour?

A. 3.6 km/hr
B. 7.2 km/hr
C. 8.4 km/hr
D. 10 km/hr
• Ans: B
• Speed = (6005×60) m/sec= 2 m/sec = 2 x
(18/5) km/hr = 7.2 km/hr
 Question
Excluding stoppages, the speed of a bus is 54
kmph and including stoppages, it is 45 kmph.
For how many minutes does the bus stop per
hour?

A. 9 min
B. 10 min
C. 12 min
D. 20 min
• Answer: Option B
• Explanation:
• Due to stoppages, it covers 9 km less.

Time taken to cover 9 km = (9/54) hour

= (1/6)*60 minutes
= 10 minutes
 Practice Questions
1.A man covers a certain distance by car driving at
30kmph and he returns back to the starting point with
a speed 40kmph. Find his average speed for the whole
journey.

a)35 km/hr
b)34.3 km/hr
c)36 km/hr
d)None

Ans: B
2. The ratio between the speeds of two trains is
7 : 8. If the second train runs 400 km in 4 hours,
What is the speed of the first train?

a)85km/hr
b)87.5 km/hr
c)90 km/hr
d)None

Ans: B
3. A truck covers a distance of 550 meters in 1
minute whereas a train covers a distance of 33
kms in 45 minutes. What is the ratio of their
speed?

a) 4:3
b) 3:4
c) 5:4
d) None

Ans: B
4. A person has to cover a distance of 6 km in 45
minutes. If he covers one-half of the distance in two-
thirds of the total time; to cover the remaining distance
in the remaining time, what should be his speed in
km/hr?

a)10 km/hr
b)12 km/hr
c)15 km/hr
d)None

Ans: B
5. A man travels the first part of his journey at 30
kmph and the remaining part at 90 kmph, and he
covers the entire journey at an average speed of 50
kmph. What is the ratio of the distance he covered at
30 kmph to that he covered at 90 kmph?

a)1 : 2
b)1 : 3
c)2 : 3
d)3 : 4
Ans: C
6. Paras starts from Ludhiana at 6 a.m. at a
constant speed of 40 kmph. He halts at
Jalandhar for half an hour and then drives at 70
kmph. He reaches Amritsar at 9.30 a.m. which is
180 km away from Ludhiana. What is the
distance between Jalandhar and Amritsar?

a)120 km
b)140 km
c)100 km
d)130 km
Ans: B
7. There are 20 windmills with a constant distance
between each pole. A car takes 22 seconds to reach
the 12th pole. How much time will it take to reach
the last pole?

a)36 seconds
b)38 seconds
c)40 seconds
d)42 seconds

Ans: B
8. By walking at 3/7th of his usual speed, a man
reaches office 20 minutes later than usual time.
What is his usual travel time?

a)10 min
b)15 min
c)20 min
d)25 min

Ans: B
9. Two buses travel to a place at 45 km/h and 60
km/h respectively. If the second bus takes 5 1/2
hours less than the first for the journey, the length
(all in km) of the journey is

a)900
b)945
c)990
d)1350

Ans: C
10. If I walk at 30 miles/hr I reach 1 hour before
the reporting time and if I walk at 20 miles/hr I
reach 1 hour late. Find the distance between 2
points and the exact time of reaching
destination is 11 am then find the speed with
which I have to walk to reach on time.

a)100miles and 24 miles/hr

b)120miles and 24 miles/hr
c)120miles and 16 miles/hr
d)100miles and 16 miles/hr
Ans: B
11. A ship went on a voyage. After 180 miles a
plane started with 10 times speed that of the ship.
Find the distance when they meet from starting
point.

a)185 miles
b)190 miles
c)200 miles
d)220 miles

Ans: C
12. While driving from Chennai to Bangalore, I
covered half of the journey at an average speed of
80 kmph, half of the 2nd half of the journey at an
average speed of 40 kmph and the rest at
60kmph. It took 5 hours and 30 minutes to reach
Bangalore. How far is Bangalore from Chennai?
a)310 km
b)350 km
c)330 km
d)360 km
Ans: C
14. Anil and Jagjeet want to go from Coimbatore to
Ooty. There are two ways to do this. First way is to
hire a two wheeler, second is to go by bus. Jagjeet
started immediately to Ooty in a non stop bus.
After sometime Anil hired a Yamaha bike and
started towards Ooty. Anil overtook Jagjeet at
10.00 a.m. Anil reached Ooty at 12.30 p.m. and
spent an hour. While returning from Ooty, he met
the bus at 2.00 p.m. When will the bus reach Ooty?
a)2.30 p.m.
b)3.00 p.m.
c)3.30 p.m.
d)4.00 p.m.
Ans: B
RELATIVE SPEED
Relative Speed is defined as the speed of one
particle with respect to the other.
Let's say two boys B1 and B2 start running from
the same point at the same time. The speed’s of
B1, B2 is 4 m/s and 7 m/s respectively.
Case 1: When they run in the same direction
After a second, B2 leads B1 by 3 metres.
The speed of B2 with respect to B1 is 3 m/s. As
they continue running, the gap between them
increases at the rate of 3 m/s.
Here, the relative speed is the difference
between the speeds 7 – 4 = 3 m/s as it is
perceived as the relative displacement in unit
time.
For the same scenario, if B1 were 12
metres ahead of B2 before they started to run,
then the gap between them would initially
decrease and then increase at the rate of 3 m/s.
Case 2: When they run in opposite direction
After a second, the gap between B1 and B2
is 11 metres. The speed of B2 with respect to B1
is 11 m/s. As they continue running, the gap
between them increases at the rate of 11 m/s.
Here, the relative speed is the sum of
speeds 7 + 4 = 11 m/s as it is perceived as the
relative displacement in unit time.
For the same scenario, if there was a initial
gap of 12 metres between B1 and B2, facing
each other, before they started to run, then the
gap between them would initially decrease and
then increase at the rate of 11 m/s.
Corollary: The gap between two moving bodies
either increases/ decreases at the rate of their
relative speed.
•When the bodies move in the same direction,
the relative speed = difference between the
speeds = S1 ∼ S2
•When the bodies move in the opposite
directions, the relative speed = sum of the
speeds = S1 + S2
TRAIN PROBLEMS
Train problems broadly centre around the
following three types.
Lt= length of the train
S = Speed of the train
T = time taken

1.Time taken by a train to cross a stationary

point.
T = Lt/S
2. Time taken by a train to cross a stationary
length.
T = Lt + SL/ S

3. Time taken by a train to cross a moving

length.
T = Lt1 + Lt2 /S1 + S2
1. A train running at the speed of 60 km/hr
crosses a pole in 9 seconds. What is the length
of the train?
A. 120 metres
B. 180 metres
C. 324 metres
D. 150 metres

Ans: D
2. The length of the bridge, which a train 130
metres long and travelling at 45 km/hr can cross
in 30 seconds, is:
A. 200 m
B. 225 m
C. 245 m
D. 250 m
Ans: C
3. A train passes a station platform in 36
seconds and a man standing on the platform in
20 seconds. If the speed of the train is 54 km/hr,
then what is the length of the platform?
a)200 m
b)240 m
c)300 m
d)864 m

Ans: B
4. A train 125 m long passes a man, running at 5
km/hr in the same direction in which the train is
going, in 10 seconds. The speed of the train is:

A. 45 km/hr
B. 50 km/hr
C. 54 km/hr
D. 55 km/hr
Ans: B
5. Two trains are moving in opposite directions @
60 km/hr and 90 km/hr. Their lengths are 1.10 km
and 0.9 km respectively. The time taken by the
slower train to cross the faster train in seconds is:

A. 36
B. 45
C. 48
D. 49
Ans: C
6. A jogger running at 9 kmph alongside a railway
track in 240 metres ahead of the engine of a 120
metres long train running at 45 kmph in the same
direction. In how much time will the train pass the
jogger?

A. 3.6 sec
B. 18 sec
C. 36 sec
D. 72 sec
Ans: C
7. A 270 metres long train running at the speed
of 120 kmph crosses another train running in
opposite direction at the speed of 80 kmph in 9
seconds. What is the length of the other train?

A. 230 m
B. 240 m
C. 260 m
D. 320 m
Ans: A
 V

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