Problem 1:

A man walks 7 km in 2 hours and 2 km in 1 hour in the same direction.

a) What is the man's average speed for the whole journey?
b) What is the man's average velocity for the whole journey?

Solution to Problem 1:
a)

distance 7 km + 2 km 9 km
average speed = = = = 3 km/h
time 2 hours + 1 hour 3 hours
b)

displacement 7 km + 2 km 9 km
average velocity = = = = 3 km/h
time 2 hours + 1 hour 3 hours

Problem 2:

A man walks 7 km East in 2 hours and then 2.5 km West in 1 hour.

a) What is the man's average speed for the whole journey?
b) What is the man's average velocity for the whole journey? Advertisements

Solution to Problem 2:
a)

7 km + 2.5 km 9.5 km
average speed distance = 3.2 km/h (approximated to the nearest
= 2 hours + 1 = 3
= time tenth)
hour hours
b)

displacement 7 km - 2.5 km 4.5 km

average velocity = = = = 1.5 km/h
time 2 hours + 1 hour 3 hours
Problem 3:

You start walking from a point on a circular field of radius 0.5 km and 1 hour later you
are at the same point.
a) What is your average speed for the whole journey?
b) What is your average velocity for the whole journey?
Solution to Problem 3:
a) If you walk around a circular field and come back to the same point, you have covered a
distance equal to the circumference of the circle.

2 * 0.5 *
average speed distance circumference = Pi km/h = 3.14 km/h
= = Pi
= time time (approximated)
1 hour

b) If you walk around a circular field and come back to the same point
where you started the displacement, which a change in position, is equal to
zero. Since the displacement is equal to zero, the average velocity is also
equal to zero.

Problem 4:
John drove South 120 km at 60 km/h and then East 150 km at 50 km/h.
Determine
a) the average speed for the whole journey?
b) the magnitude of the average velocity for the whole journey?

Solution to Problem 4:
a)
The time t1 to cover 120 km at a speed of 60 km/h is given by
t1 = 120 / 60 = 2 hours
The time t2 to cover 150 km at a speed of 50 km/h is given by
t2 = 150 / 50 = 3 hours

distance 120 km + 150 km 270 km

average speed = = = = 54 km/h
time 2 hours + 3 hours 5 hours
b) The magnitude of the displacement is the distance AC between the final
point and the starting point and is calculated using Pythagora's theorem as
follows
AC2 = 1202 + 1502 AC = √(14400+22500) = 30 √41 km

displacement 30 √41 km
average velocity = = = 38.4 km/h (approximated)
time 2 hours + 3 hour

Problem 5:
If I can walk at an average speed of 5 km/h, how many miles I can walk
in two hours?

Solution to Problem 5:
distance = (average speed) * (time) = 5 km/h * 2 hours = 10 km
using the rate of conversion 0.62 miles per km, the distance in miles is given
by

distance = 10 km * 0.62 miles/km = 6.2 miles

 Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has
covered" during its motion.
 Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place an object is";
it is the object's overall change in position.

Scalars are quantities that are fully described by a magnitude (or numerical
value) alone.
Vectors are quantities that are fully described by both a magnitude and a
direction.
a. 5 m Scalar
b. 30 m/sec, East Vector
c. 5 mi., North Vector
d. 20 degrees Celsius Scalar
e. 256 bytes Scalar
f. 4000 Calories scalar

Speed is a scalar quantity—it is the magnitude of the velocity. Speed is

measured in units of distance divided by time (e.g., miles per hour, feet
per second, meters per second, etc.).

Velocity is a vector quantity—when giving the velocity we must specify

the magnitude (the speed) and the direction of travel. For example, you
might drive 100km/hr (the speed) in a northerly