Speed, Time

and Distance
QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE

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Time, Distance and Speed

Definition
Speed – It is defined as rate of travel to cover certain distance. It is generally
expressed in m/s, km/hr etc.
Time – It is defined as the duration for which travelling has been done to cover
certain distance. . It is generally expressed in seconds, hours etc.
Distance – It is defined as the length of path for which travelling has been done. It is
generally expressed in metre, kilometre etc.

Distance
Speed =
Time

Unit Conversions
km/hr to m/s
 5 
x km/hr=  x ×  m/sec
 18 

Q. Convert 54 km/hr into m/sec.

A. 54 km/hr=54 × 5/18 =15 m/sec

m/s to km/hr
 18 
x m/sec =  x ×  km/hr
 5 

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Q. A car goes 20 meters in a second. Find its speed in km/hr.

A. 20 m/sec = 20 × 18/5 = 72 km/hr

Ratios of Speed, Distance and/or Time

If the ratio of the speeds of A and B is a : b, then the ratio of the times take by them
1 1
to cover the same distance will be : or b:a.
a b

Q. The speed of three cars are in the ratio 5 : 4 : 6. The ratio between the time
taken by them to travel the same distance is
A. Ratio of time taken = ⅕ : ¼ : ⅙ = 12 : 15 : 10

Average Speed
Total distance
Average speed =
Total Time

Q. A truck covers a distance of 1200 km in 40 hours. What is the average speed of

the truck?
A. Average speed = Total distance travelled/Total time taken
⇒ Average speed = 1200/40
∴ Average speed = 30 km/hr

Q. A man travelled 12 km at a speed of 4 km/h and further 10 km at a speed of 5

km/hr. What was his average speed?
A. Total time taken = Time taken at a speed of 4 km/h + Time taken at a speed of 5 km/
h
⇒ 12/4 + 10/5 = 5 hours [∵ Time = Distance/Speed]
Average speed = Total distance/Total time
⇒ (12 + 10) /5 = 22/5 = 4.4 km/h

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Testbook Trick
Suppose a man covers a certain distance at x km/hr and an equal distance at y km/hr.
 2xy 
Then, the average speed during the whole journey =   km/hr
 x+y 

Q. Rahul goes Delhi to Pune at a speed of 50 km/h and comes back at a speed of
75 km/h. Find his average speed of the journey.
A. As, distance is same both cases
⇒ Required average speed = (2 × 50 × 75)/(50 + 75) = 7500/125 = 60 km/hr

Problems on Train

Train crossing a stationary body

Train passing a man/point object
When a train passes a man/object, the distance travelled by the train while passing
that object, will be equal to the length of the train.

Q. A train 320 meters long crosses a pole in 16 seconds. Find the speed of train.

A. As we know when a train crosses a pole it travels its own length.

Length of train
Speed of train = = 320/16 = 20 m/s
Time taken by train
∴ Speed of the train = 20 m/s

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Q. Determine the length of train A if it crosses a pole at 60km/h in 30 sec.

A. Given, speed of the train = 60 km/h

⇒ Speed = 60 × 5/18 m/s = 50/3 m/s
Given, time taken by train A to cross the pole = 30 s
The distance covered in crossing the pole will be equal to the length of the train.
⇒ Distance = Speed × Time
⇒ Distance = 50/3 × 30 = 500 m

Train passing a long object/platform

When a train passes a platform or a long object, the distance travelled by the train,
while crossing that object will be equal to the sum of the length of the train and
length of that object.

Q. A train passes a platform in 36 seconds, and a man standing on the platform in

20 sec. If the speed of the train is 54 Km/hr, what is the length of the platform?

A. Let the lengths of the train and the platform are ‘x’ metres and ‘y’ metres respectively.
Speed of train = 54 × 5/18 = 15 m/s
We know that,
Speed = Distance/Time
When the train crosses the platform,
x+y
36 =
15
⇒ x + y = 15 × 36 = 540 metres … (1)
When the train crosses the man
x
20 =
15
⇒ x = 300 metres … (2)
Solving equations (1) and (2) we get,
y = 240 metres.
Hence the length of the platform is 240 metres.

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Q. A 150 m long train crosses a 270 m long platform in 15 sec. How much time will
it take to cross a platform of 186 m?
A. In crossing a 270 m long platform,
Total distance covered by train = 150 + 270 = 420 m
Speed of train = total distance covered/time taken = 420/15 = 28 m/sec
In crossing a 186 m long platform,
Total distance covered by train = 150 + 186 = 336 m
∴ Time taken by train = distance covered/speed of train = 336/28 = 12 sec.

Train crossing a moving body

Train passing a moving man/object

When a train passes a moving man/point object, the distance travelled by the train
while passing it will be equal to the length of the train and relative speed will be taken
as
1) If both are moving in same direction then relative speed = Difference of both
speeds
2) If both are moving in opposite direction then relative speed = Addition of both
speeds

Q. Two trains are moving in the same directions at speed of 43 km/h and 51 km/h
respectively. The time taken by the faster train to cross a man sitting in the
slower train is 72 seconds. What is the length (in metres) of the faster train?
A. Given: The speed of 2 trains = 43 km/hr and 51 km/hr
Relative velocity of both trains = (51 - 43) km/hr = 8 km/hr
Relative velocity in m/s = 8 × (5/18) m/s
⇒ Distance covered by the train in 72 sec = 8 × (5/18) × 72 = 160
Hence, the length of faster train = 160 m

Q. Two trains are moving at 80 km/hr and 100 km/hr in opposite directions. Their
lengths are 350 m and 150 m respectively. Find the time taken to cross each
other.

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A. Total length of train = 350 + 150 = 500 m

Relative speed of trains = 80 + 100 = 180 km/hr = 180 × 5/18 = 50 m/s
Using Formula, Speed = Distance/Time
Time taken to cross each other = 500 /50 = 10 seconds

Q. A train, 180 m long, passes a pole in 18 seconds and crosses another train of
the same length travelling in the opposite directions in 12 seconds. The speed
of the second train is

A. When a train passes a pole it essentially travels a distance equal to its own length.
Hence, speed of train = 180/18 = 10 m/s
Now, let the speed of 2nd train be a.
Hence, relative speed = (10 + a) m/s (as both are moving in opposite direction)
Total distance = 180 + 180 = 360 m
Now, Distance = Speed × Time taken
∴ 360 = (10 + a) × 12
⇒ 10 + a = 30
∴ a = 20 m/s

Testbook Trick
1) If two trains of length ‘a’ metres and ‘b’ metres are moving in the same direction at u
 a + b  sec
m/s and v m/s, then the time taken to cross each other =
u - v 
2) If two trains of length ‘a’ metres and ‘b’ metres are moving in the opposite direction
 a + b  sec
at u m/s and v m/s, then the time taken to cross each other =
u + v 

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Q. How long will a train 100m long travelling at 72km/h take to overtake another
train 200m long travelling at 54km/h in the same direction?
A. Relative speed = 72 – 54 km/h (as both are travelling in same direction)
= 18 km/hr = 18 × 10/36 m/s = 5 m/s
Also, distance covered by the train to overtake the train = 100 m + 200 m = 300 m
Hence,
Time taken = distance/speed = 300/5 = 60 sec

Boats and Streams

In such problems boat travels either in the direction of stream or in the opposite di-
rection of stream. The direction of boat along the stream is called downstream and
the direction of boat against the stream is called upstream.
If the speed of a boat in still water is u km/hr and the speed of the stream is v km/hr,
then:
1) Speed downstream = (u + v) km/hr
2) Speed upstream = (u - v) km/hr

Q. A girl can row a certain distance downstream in 2 hours and upstream in 3

hours. If the stream flows at the rate of 4 km/h, what is the speed of the girl in
still water?
A. Let, the distance = x km and speed of the girl in still water = y km/h
Then,
⇒ Downstream speed = y + 4 km/h
⇒ Upstream speed = y – 4 km/h
Now, according to the question,
x/(y - 4) = 3 ... (1)
And, x/(y + 4) = 2 ... (2)
Solving equation (1) and (2) we get

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Testbook Trick
If the speed of an object in downstream is a km/hr and in upstream is b km/hr, then:
1
1) Speed of object in still water km/hr =  a+b 
1 2
2) Speed of stream km/hr =  a-b 
2

Q. In 5 hours a boat can be rowed 16 km upstream or 28 km downstream. Find the

speed of the boat in the still water.
A. Speed = Distance/Time
Speed of downstream = (28/5) km/hr = 5.6 km/hr
Speed of upstream = (16/5) km/hr = 3.2 km/hr
Since, velocity of boat in still water = ½ (speed of downstream + speed of upstream)

1 1
  5.6  3.2    8.8  4.4 km / hr
2 2

Q. In one hour, a motorboat goes 107 km along the stream and 73 km against the
stream. The speed of stream is:
A. In one hour, a motorboat goes 107 km along the stream and 73 km against the
stream.
∴ Speed of stream = (Difference of the speeds of the boat in upstream and
downstream)/2

107 - 73
= = 34/2 = 17 km/h
2

Q. In a stream running at 2 km/h a racing boat goes 32 km upstream and back

again to the starting point in 12 hours. Find the speed of the racing boat in still
water.
A. Let speed of boat in still water = a km/hr
Then, Speed of boat in Upstream = a - 2 km/hr
Speed of boat in downstream = a + 2 km/hr
Then we have

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32 32
+ =12
a+2 a-2
⇒ (32 × 2a) / (a2 – 4) = 12
16a = 3a2 - 12
On solving, we get a = 6
Hence, speed of racing boat in still water is 6 km/hr

Q. The upstream speed of a boat is 7 km/hr lesser than the downstream. The boat
covers 20 km upstream in 2 hours. What is the speed of boat in still water (in
km/hr)?
A. Let the speed of stream be V km/hr and speed of boat in still water be U km/hr.
Upstream speed = (U – V) km/hr
Downstream speed = (U + V) km/hr
The upstream speed of a boat is 7 km/hr lesser than the downstream.
U–V=U+V–7
⇒ V = 3.5 km/hr
⇒ Upstream speed = (U – V) km/hr = (U – 3.5) km/hr
The boat covers 20 km upstream in 2 hours.
Distance = Speed × Time
⇒ 20 = (U – 3.5) × 2
⇒ U = 10 + 3.5 = 13.5
∴ Speed of boat in still water is 13.5 km/hr.

Q. A boat takes 40 minutes to travel 20 km downstream. If the speed of the

stream is 2.5 km/hr, how much more time will it take to return back?
A. Time taken downstream = 40 min = 40/60 = 2/3 hrs.
Downstream speed = 20/ (2/3) = 30 km/hr.
As we know, speed of stream = 1/2 × (Downstream speed - Upstream speed)
⇒ Upstream speed = 30 - 2 × 2.5 = 30 - 5 = 25 km/hr.
Time taken to return back = 20/25 = 0.8 hrs. = 0.8 × 60 = 48 min.
∴ The boat will take = 48 - 40 = 8 min. more to return back

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