What is the average speed according to the data?
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What is the average speed according to the data?
Let's first remind ourselves of the formula for finding velocity:
= distance
= time
= velocity
Then substitute the data into the formula:
Calculate accordingly to get:
Therefore, the average velocity is 58.82.
58.82....
What is the average speed according to the data?
Because each journey segment lasted a different amount of time! The 70 km/h journey took 3 hours, while the 40 km/h journey only took 1 hour. Simply averaging speeds ignores these time differences.
The 0 km/h means the person was stationary (not moving) for 2 hours. This could represent a rest stop, traffic jam, or break during the journey.
Include it normally! Zero speed for 2 hours means zero distance covered in that time. It still counts as part of the total time: 0 km ÷ 2 hours = 0 km/h.
Real-world average speeds are often decimal numbers! When you divide 500 by 8.5, you get 58.82... This is the exact mathematical result.
Yes! Check if . Also, notice the average speed (58.82) falls between the individual speeds, which makes sense given the time weightings.
The same method applies! Always use total distance ÷ total time. When time durations are equal, this method naturally gives more weight to longer distances.
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