Name Date Period

Describing Motion
Directions: On the line before each definition, write the letter of the term that matches it correctly. Each term is
used only once

1. the starting point used to locate another place

or thing
A. reference point
2. the distance an object moves in a unit of time B. speed
3. describes an object’s distance and direction from C. position
a reference point D. motion
4. a change of position E. distance

5. the difference between the initial, or starting

position, and the final position

Moving objects do not usually maintain a constant speed during an entire journey. The
exact speed changes over time. We simplify this situation by describing the object’s average
speed. Average speed is equal to the total distance traveled divided by the total time.
total distance
average speed =
total time
A bicyclist travels 18 km in 45 minutes. What is the bicyclist’s average speed in km/minute?

Step 1 Identify the values given in the problem.

total distance = 18 km
total time = 45 min

Step 2 Put the values into the formula and divide to solve.
total distance
average speed =
total time
average speed= 18km/45 minutes
average speed = 0.4 km/min

Practice problems:

1. A snail crawls 5 inches in 15 minutes. What is its speed in in./min?

A. 33 in./min
B. 3.3 in./min
C. 0.33 in./min

2. My mom and I walked 3,600 m in 90 minutes. What was our speed in m/min?
A. 40 mph
B. 40 m/min
C. 400 m/min

3. The sprinter ran 110 m in 11 seconds. What was her average speed in m/s?
A. 10 m/s
B. 0.1 m/s
C. 100 m/s
 4. Our family car travels 40 miles in 2 hours. What is our average speed in mph?
A. 2 mph
B. 20 mph
C. 40 mph

5. Candice skipped 12 m in 3 seconds. What was her speed in m/s?

A. 4 m/s
B. 3 m/s
C. 12 m/s

6. A train travels 160 km in 2 h. What is

the train’s average speed in km/h? Show your work.

______ 7. Which equation could be used to solve for the average speed of a car that
travels 90 m in 20 seconds?
A. average speed = 90 m
20 s
20 s
B. average speed = 90 m
C. average speed = 90 m × 20 s
D. average speed = 20 s + 90 m

Short Response
1. An object’s position describes its location. A complete description of an
object’s position includes three pieces of information.
List the three components that make a complete description of a location.

2. Speed is one way that an object’s motion can be described. The speed of
most moving objects is not constant, so average speed is often used to
describe motion.
Explain how the average speed of an object is calculated.