Question

Tom went on a bike to the store 3 miles away. If it took Tom 1/2 of an hour to get there and 2/3 of an hour to get back , what was his average rate of speed for the entire trip

Answer 1

5.14 mi/h

Explanation:

To find the average speed, we simply find the total distance traveled by Tom and divide that by the total time the entire journey took him.

Average speed = (total distance traveled) / (total time taken)

TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED

He traveled 3 miles to and 3 miles fro. Hence:

3 + 3 = 6 miles

TOTAL TIME TAKEN

He spent ½ hr to go and ⅔ hr to return back. Hence:

½ + ⅔ = 7/6 hr

Therefore, the average speed is:

v = 6 / (7/6)

v = 36 / 7 = 5.14 mi/h

Tom's average speed was 5.14 mi/h.