Question

The 1992 world speed record for a bicycle (human-powered vehicle) was set by Chris Huber. His time through the measured 200 m stretch was a sizzling 6.509 s, at which he commented,"Cogito ergo zoom!" (I think, therefore I go fast!). a.) What was Chris Huber’s speed in meters per second(m/s)? b) In 2001, Sam Whittingham beat Huber’s record by 19.0 km/h. What was Whittingham’s time through the 200 m? (answer hours)

Answer 1

Speed of Chris Huber = 30.726 m/s

Time taken by Sam = 5.55 s

Explanation:

Given:

Distance = 200 m

Time taken by Chris Huber = 6.509 s

Now,

Speed of Chris Huber =
`\frac{\textup{Distance}}{\textup{Time}}`

or

Speed of Chris Huber =
`\frac{\textup{200 m}}{\textup{6.509 s}}`

or

Speed of Chris Huber = 30.726 m/s

Speed of Sam = Speed of Chris Huber + 19.0 km/h

Now,

1 km/hr = 0.277778 m/s

thus,

19.0 km/h = 19.0 × 0.27 = 5.278 m/s

thus,

Speed of Sam = 30.726 + 5.278 = 36.004 m/s

therefore,

Time taken by Sam =
`\frac{\textup{Distance}}{\textup{Speed}}`

or

Time taken by Sam =
`\frac{\textup{200}}{\textup{36.004}}` = 5.55 s