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10.05 Units of speed

Worksheet
Units of speed
1

Should the time component be written first or second when writing units for speed? Explain your answer.

2

State the unit that is most appropriate for measuring the speed of:

a

A person running.

b

A car driving.

c

A slug moving.

d

A motorcyclist riding.

e

A cheetah running.

f

A baby crawling.

3

Determine whether the following unit is the most appropriate for measuring the speed of constructing a skyscraper:

a

Vertical metres per hour.

b

Floors per month.

c

Floors per day.

4

For each of the following pairs of speeds, state which one is faster and why:

a

60 \text{ m/hr} and 60 \text{ km/hr}

b

70 \text{ m/h} and 70 \text{ m/s}

Speed conversions
5

Convert the following:

a

2500 \text{ m} into kilometres.

b

2100 seconds into minutes.

c

45 minutes into hours.

d

7.562 \text{ km} into metres.

e

6.85 hours into seconds.

f

1\,450\,000 \text{ cm} into kilometres.

6

Cecelia jogs at a rate of 7.2 \text{ km/h}.

a

How many meters will she cover in 1 hour?

b

How many meters will she cover each minute?

c

What is her spend in metres per second?

7

Erez runs 100 meters in 15 seconds.

a

How many meters will he cover in 1 minute?

b

How many meters will he cover in 1 hour?

c

What is his spend in kilometres per hour?

8

Convert each of the following speeds from kilometres per hour to metres per minute:

a

60 \text{ km/hr}

b

5 \text{ km/hr}

c

24 \text{ km/hr}

9

Convert the following:

a

55 \text{ km/h} into kilometres per minute.

b

3.5 \text{ km/h} into metres per hour.

c

840 \text{ m/min} into metres per second.

d

3.2 \text{ m/s} into metres per hour.

e

1320 \text{ m/s} into kilometres per second.

f

25 \text{ cm/min} into meters per minute.

10

Explain why converting from metres per second to kilometres per hour can be done in one step by multiplying by 3.6.

11

Convert the following:

a

9 \text{ km/h} into metres per second.

b

68 \text{ m/s} into kilometres per hour.

c

12.5 \text{ m/s} into kilometres per hour.

d

108 \text{ km/h} into metres per second.

e

12 \text{ km/h} into metres per minute.

f

84 \text{ cm/min} into metres per hour.

12

Write each of the following speeds in kilometres per hour:

a

600 \text{ m/min}

b

12 \text{ m} travelled in 90 minutes.

c

1600 \text{ m} travelled in 131 minutes, correct to two decimal places.

13

Calculate the speed in kilometres per hour for each of the following situations. Round your answer to one decimal place where necessary.

a

A car which travels 400 \text{ km} in 5 hours.

b

A cyclist who cycles 50 \text{ km} in 3 hours.

c

A train which travels 650 \text{ km} in 6 hours.

d

A boat which travels 10\,000 \text{ m} in 2 hours.

e

A go-kart which travels 35\,900 \text{ m} in 3 hours.

f

A person who has hiked 9000 \text{ m} in 1.5 hours.

g

A car which travels 20 \text{ km} in 30 minutes.

h

A cyclist who rides a total of 78 \text{ km} in 180 minutes.

i

A train which travels 15 \text{ km} in 10 minutes.

j

A car which travels 112 \text{ km} in 75 minutes.

Applications
14

Sophia captured footage of a hawk diving 200 \text{ m} in 10 seconds. Using this as a comparison, what units would be most appropriate for measuring the speed of a feather falling to the ground?

15

A race on land between two giant tortoises was recorded. The race was 200 \text{ m} long and the timekeeper (not a tortoise) measured the race in minutes. What would be the most appropriate unit for the average speed of each tortoise?

16

Oliver hikes for three hours, moving at a speed of 1.4 metres per second.

a

What unit would be more appropriate to describe his speed?

b

Hence, convert Oliver's speed to the more appropriate units.

17

Vanessa eats doughnuts at a rate of 0.13 doughnuts per second in a doughnut eating competition.

a

What would be a more appropriate unit of speed to describe this situation: doughnuts per hour or doughnuts per minute?

b

Hence, convert Vanessa's speed to the more appropriate units.

18

A turtle crawls for half an hour at a speed of 0.001 kilometres per second.

a

What unit would be more appropriate to describe the turtle's speed?

b

Hence, convert the turtle's speed to the more appropriate units.

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Outcomes

2.2.3.1

identify the appropriate units for different activities, e.g. walking, running, swimming, driving and flying

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