Activity: Getting there – crit A

ATL: Critical thiking skills: interpret data

Table 1.3 shows the time to travel 10km by the fastest avaliable mass transport system in different time
periods. (By ‘mass transport system’ we mean a form of transportation that is readily avaliable to many
people.)

Time period Mode of transport Average time to travl 10 Average speed (m/s)
km
Prehistoric times By foot 2 hours
5000 BCE - 1800 CE Horse 40 minutes
Nineteenth century Stream train 9 minutes
Motor vehicle 12 minutes
Mid twentieth century Propeller aircraft 4 minutes
Late twentieth century Jet aircraft 1 minute
Table 1.3 fastest times of mass transport through the ages

 Interpret the data in the table to calculate the average speeds of the different transportation
systems.
 With reference to your calculation, outline how times of travel have changed over th ages.