NOTES: Speed and Velocity: PREP II

>Constant speed and velocity problems: You will be using the following formulas to solve problems in this
homework.

d
v (speed = distance divided by time)
t

v
d (average speed = total distance divided by time)
t

 d (velocity = displacement divided by time)
v
t


v 
d (average velocity = total displacement divided by time)
t
>Sample problems: Some of these problems will be done in class, some will be for homework. ALL WILL
BE DONE USING THE STEPS FROM THE PROBLEM SOLVING NOTES GIVEN OUT FRIDAY JULY 8,
1994.

1. On a baseball diamond, the distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound is 18.5 m. If a pitcher is
capable of throwing a ball at 38.5 m/s, how much time does it take a thrown ball to reach home plate?

2. A car is driven 60 km west in 40 min., and then 70 km east in 50 min.

a) What is the average speed of the car in km/hr?
b) What is the average velocity of the car in km/hr?

3. A man shouts into a canyon. After 3 seconds, he hears his echo. Assuming the speed of sound is 330 m/s,
how deep is the canyon?

4. Two bicyclists move toward each other at 10 mph. At the moment when they are 20 miles apart, a bee starts
to fly back and forth between the two at a speed of 25 mph. It continues to do this until the bicycles meet.
a) How far (distance) does the bee move?
b) What is the bee’s displacement?

5. Light from the sun reaches the earth in 8.3 minutes. The speed of (all) light is 300,000,000 m/s. How far is
the earth from the sun?

6. A high speed train is traveling at 301 km/hr. When it is 360 m from a road crossing, the engineer blows the
whistle. If the speed of sound is 330 m/s, how many seconds after the whistle is heard at the crossing will the
train cross there?

7. A woman wants to drive 100 km in 2 hours. If she averages 40 km/h for the first 1.5 hours, what speed
must she drive for the remaining time?

8. Jennifer and Lisa race the 100 m dash. Jennifer runs at an average speed of 4 m/s and Lisa runs at 5 m/s.
How much time elapses between the two crossing the time?
9. A new Mazda can go from rest to 55 mph in 5 seconds. How far does it go in that time? (Hint: In order to
do this problem, just find the average speed during the first 5.0 seconds and then use that to calculate the
distance.)

10. A goalie for a hockey team has a reaction time of 0.40 s. A puck traveling at 25 m/s bounces off an
opposing player's pads without slowing down. How far away must this occur to give the goalkeeper a chance
to make a save?

11. The speed limit on interstate 35 north of San Marcos is about 100 km/hr. If you see something on the road
ahead of you, as you are driving along, it usually takes about 1.0 s to fully apply the breaks. How far (in
meters) will the car travel in that time?

>Don’t forget to use the problem solving steps.