Calculate George's Average Speed: Journey Details of 82 km/h for 4 Hours and 70 km/h for 3 Hours

Question

A truck driven by George makes its journey in two parts.

In the first part, its speed is 82 km/h and it travels for 4 hours.

Then, George has a break at a petrol station for 20 minutes.

In the second part, George travels at a speed of 70 km/h for 3 hours.

What is his average speed?

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Calculate the distance for each part of the journey.
  • Step 2: Find the total distance traveled.
  • Step 3: Convert all time to hours and include the break time.
  • Step 4: Calculate the average speed using the formula for average speed.

Let's calculate each step:

Step 1: Calculate the distances:
For the first part of the journey:
Speed = 82 km/h, Time = 4 hours
Distance = Speed × Time = 82×4=328 82 \times 4 = 328 km

For the second part of the journey:
Speed = 70 km/h, Time = 3 hours
Distance = Speed × Time = 70×3=210 70 \times 3 = 210 km

Step 2: Total distance traveled:
Total Distance = Distance of first part + Distance of second part
Total Distance = 328+210=538 328 + 210 = 538 km

Step 3: Calculate total time including the break:
Total time driving = 4 hours (first part) + 3 hours (second part) = 7 hours

Break time = 20 minutes = 2060=13\frac{20}{60} = \frac{1}{3} hours

Total time = Driving time + Break time = 7+13=2237 + \frac{1}{3} = \frac{22}{3} hours

Step 4: Calculate the average speed:
Average speed vavg=Total distanceTotal timev_{avg} = \frac{\text{Total distance}}{\text{Total time}}
Average speed vavg=538223=538×322=538×322=161422v_{avg} = \frac{538}{\frac{22}{3}} = 538 \times \frac{3}{22} = \frac{538 \times 3}{22} = \frac{1614}{22}

Simplifying 161422\frac{1614}{22}: Average speed ≈ 73.36 73.36 km/h

Therefore, the average speed of George's truck for the entire journey, including the break, is 73.36 73.36 km/h.

Answer

73.36 73.36 km/h