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Speed, Distance, and Time: all problems

Focus mode: every practice problem from the chapter, one after another.

0 / 13 solved

Problem 20.1.1

AMC 10

A cart rolls down a hill, traveling 55 inches the first second and accelerating so that during each successive 11-second time interval, it travels 77 inches more than during the previous 11-second interval. The cart takes 3030 seconds to reach the bottom of the hill. How far, in inches, does it travel?

Problem 20.1.2

AMC 10

Chantal and Jean start hiking from a trailhead toward a fire tower. Jean is wearing a heavy backpack and walks slower. Chantal starts walking at 44 miles per hour. Halfway to the tower, the trail becomes really steep, and Chantal slows down to 22 miles per hour. After reaching the tower, she immediately turns around and descends the steep part of the trail at 33 miles per hour. She meets Jean at the halfway point. What was Jean's average speed, in miles per hour, until they meet?

6 mi at 4 mph, then 6 mi at 2 mph, then 6 mi at 3 mph: 18 mi in 13/2 h, average speed 36/13 mph (not the mean of the speeds, 3)

Your guess3 mph
Gentle half, up speed4 mph
Steep half, up speed2 mph
Steep half, down speed3 mph
Distance (equal shares of the road)6 mi6 mi6 miTime (how long each part lasts)3/2 h3 h2 hclock: 0 of 13/2 h
  • Gentle half, up: 6 mi at 4 mph
  • Steep half, up: 6 mi at 2 mph
  • Steep half, down: 6 mi at 3 mph
Average speed = ? Make a guess!

Average speed=total distancetotal time\text{Average speed} = \frac{\text{total distance}}{\text{total time}}

Your guess: 3 mph. The legs take 3/2 and 3 and 2 h.

Problem 20.1.3

MATHCOUNTS

A car passes point AA driving at a constant rate of 6060 km per hour. A second car, traveling at a constant rate of 7575 km per hour, passes the same point AA a while later and then follows the first car. It catches the first car after traveling a distance of 7575 km past point AA. How many minutes after the first car passed point AA did the second car pass point AA?

Car 1 starts at 0 km at 60 km/h: 100 km in 1.67 h; Car 2 starts at 0 km at 75 km/h: 100 km in 1.33 h. Car 1 and Car 2 do not meet by t = 1.5 h

Clock0 h (0 min)
Car 2 starts at0 h (0 min)
0255075100Car 1Car 2
00.380.751.131.50255075100time (h)position (km)
t = 0 h (0 min)

distance=speed×time\text{distance} = \text{speed} \times \text{time}: a steeper line on the graph means a faster mover.

t = 0 h (0 min): Car 1 at 0 km, Car 2 at 0 km

Problem 20.1.4(additional)

AMC 10

Sam drove 9696 miles in 9090 minutes. His average speed during the first 3030 minutes was 6060 mph (miles per hour), and his average speed during the second 3030 minutes was 6565 mph. What was his average speed, in mph, during the last 3030 minutes?

1/2 h at 60 mph (30 mi), then 1/2 h at 65 mph (32.5 mi), then 1/2 h at 60 mph (30 mi): 92.5 mi in 3/2 h, average speed 185/3 mph (not the mean of the speeds, 185/3)

Your guess62 mph
First 30 min speed60 mph
Second 30 min speed65 mph
Last 30 min speed60 mph
Distance (speed × time)30 mi32.5 mi30 miTime (each part lasts the same)1/2 h1/2 h1/2 hclock: 0 of 3/2 h
  • First 30 min: 30 mi at 60 mph
  • Second 30 min: 32.5 mi at 65 mph
  • Last 30 min: 30 mi at 60 mph

Total so far: 92.5 mi in 3/2 h

Average speed = ? Make a guess!

Average speed=total distancetotal time\text{Average speed} = \frac{\text{total distance}}{\text{total time}}

Your guess: 62 mph. The legs take 1/2 and 1/2 and 1/2 h. Total so far: 92.5 mi in 3/2 h.

Problem 20.1.5(additional)

AIME

Every morning, Aya does a 99 kilometer walk, and then finishes at the coffee shop. One day, she walks at ss kilometers per hour, and the walk takes 44 hours, including tt minutes at the coffee shop. Another morning, she walks at s+2s + 2 kilometers per hour, and the walk takes 22 hours and 2424 minutes, including tt minutes at the coffee shop. This morning, if she walks at s+12s + \frac{1}{2} kilometers per hour, how many minutes will the walk take, including the tt minutes at the coffee shop?

Problem 20.1.6(additional)

AMC 10

Samia set off on her bicycle to visit her friend, traveling at an average speed of 1717 kilometers per hour. When she had gone half the distance to her friend's house, a tire went flat, and she walked the rest of the way at 55 kilometers per hour. In all it took her 4444 minutes to reach her friend's house. In kilometers rounded to the nearest tenth, how far did Samia walk?

Problem 20.1.7(additional)

AMC 10

Roy bought a new battery-gasoline hybrid car. On a trip the car ran exclusively on its battery for the first 4040 miles, then ran exclusively on gasoline for the rest of the trip, using gasoline at a rate of 0.020.02 gallons per mile. On the whole trip he averaged 5555 miles per gallon. How long was the trip in miles?

Problem 20.1.8(additional)

AIME

Rudolph bikes at a constant rate and stops for a five-minute break at the end of every mile. Jennifer bikes at a constant rate which is three-quarters the rate that Rudolph bikes, but Jennifer takes a five-minute break at the end of every two miles. Jennifer and Rudolph begin biking at the same time and arrive at the 5050-mile mark at exactly the same time. How many minutes has it taken them?

Problem 20.1.9(additional)

AMC 12

Andrea and Lauren are 2020 kilometers apart. They bike toward one another with Andrea traveling three times as fast as Lauren, and the distance between them decreasing at a rate of 11 kilometer per minute. After 55 minutes, Andrea stops biking because of a flat tire and waits for Lauren. After how many minutes from the time they started to bike does Lauren reach Andrea?

Andrea starts at 0 km at 0.75 km/min: 3.75 km in 5 min; Lauren starts at 20 km at 0.25 km/min: 20 km in 80 min. Andrea and Lauren do not meet by t = 30 min

Clock0 min
05101520AndreaLauren
07.51522.53005101520time (min)position (km)
t = 0 min

distance=speed×time\text{distance} = \text{speed} \times \text{time}: a steeper line on the graph means a faster mover.

t = 0 min: Andrea at 0 km, Lauren at 20 km

Problem 20.1.10(additional)

AMC 12

While Steve and LeRoy are fishing 11 mile from shore, their boat springs a leak, and water comes in at a constant rate of 1010 gallons per minute. The boat will sink if it takes in more than 3030 gallons of water. Steve starts rowing towards the shore at a constant rate of 44 miles per hour while LeRoy bails water out of the boat. What is the slowest rate, in gallons per minute, at which LeRoy can bail if they are to reach the shore without sinking?

Problem 20.1.11(additional)

AIME

Ed and Sue bike at equal and constant rates. Similarly, they jog at equal and constant rates, and they swim at equal and constant rates. Ed covers 7474 kilometers after biking for 22 hours, jogging for 33 hours, and swimming for 44 hours, while Sue covers 9191 kilometers after jogging for 22 hours, swimming for 33 hours, and biking for 44 hours. Their biking, jogging, and swimming rates are all whole numbers of kilometers per hour. Find the sum of the squares of Ed's biking, jogging, and swimming rates.

Problem 20.1.12(additional)

AIME

Ana, Bob, and Cao bike at constant rates of 8.68.6 meters per second, 6.26.2 meters per second, and 55 meters per second, respectively. They all begin biking at the same time from the northeast corner of a rectangular field whose longer side runs due west. Ana starts biking along the edge of the field, initially heading west, Bob starts biking along the edge of the field, initially heading south, and Cao bikes in a straight line across the field to a point DD on the south edge of the field. Cao arrives at point DD at the same time that Ana and Bob arrive at DD for the first time. The ratio of the field's length to the field's width to the distance from point DD to the southeast corner of the field can be represented as p:q:rp : q : r, where pp, qq, and rr are positive integers with pp and qq relatively prime. Find p+q+rp + q + r.

Problem 20.1.13(additional)

AIME

Jon and Steve ride their bicycles along a path that parallels two side-by-side train tracks running the east/west direction. Jon rides east at 2020 miles per hour, and Steve rides west at 2020 miles per hour. Two trains of equal length, traveling in opposite directions at constant but different speeds each pass the two riders. Each train takes exactly 11 minute to go past Jon. The westbound train takes 1010 times as long as the eastbound train to go past Steve. The length of each train is mn\frac{m}{n} miles, where mm and nn are relatively prime positive integers. Find m+nm + n.