Calculating Speed: A Journey to Visit a Friend

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need to calculate your speed while traveling to visit a friend? This article will walk you through a step-by-step process to calculate your speed based on the given distances and time. We'll cover how to compute the total distance, the total time taken, and finally, the speed in miles per hour.

Understanding the Problem

Let's imagine the scenario where you leave your house at 2:45 PM and travel to visit a friend. The journey involves walking 1 mile, then taking a train for 12 miles, and finally walking the remaining 1/4 mile from the train station to your friend's house. You arrive at your friend's house at 4:15 PM. The challenge is to find out your average speed in miles per hour.

Breaking Down the Problem

To solve this problem, we need to follow a systematic approach:

Total Distance Traveled

The total distance traveled is the sum of the individual distances:

1 mile (walking) 12 miles (train) 1/4 mile (walking) 15 miles

Total Time Taken

The total time taken is the difference between the arrival and departure times:

4:15 PM - 2:45 PM 1 hour and 30 minutes 1.5 hours

Calculating Average Speed

Speed is calculated using the formula: Speed Distance / Time

Given that the total distance is 15 miles and the total time is 1.5 hours, we can substitute these values into the formula:

Speed 15 miles / 1.5 hours 10 miles per hour

Verification of the Solution

To ensure the correctness of the solution, let's break down the journey and check the distance and time:

Distance walked before the train: 1 mile Distance traveled by train: 12 miles Distance walked after the train: 1/4 mile

Total distance: 1 mile 12 miles 0.25 mile 15 miles

Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes 1.5 hours

Using the speed formula: Speed 15 miles / 1.5 hours 10 miles per hour

Conclusion

The average speed for the journey to visit the friend is 10 miles per hour. This calculation method can be applied to various real-life scenarios to determine the speed of travel or any other object based on the distance and time involved.

Related Articles and Resources

Understanding Basic Speed and Distance Formulas Real-Life Applications of Speed Calculation Tips for Calculating Average Speed

By breaking down travel problems into distance, time, and speed calculations, we can better understand and apply these fundamental concepts in practical situations.