Starter quiz
- Members of a running group compared their times to complete a park run. Use the times to put the runners in order of decreasing speed, starting with the fastest.
- 1⇔runner E: 18 minutes
- 2⇔runner D: 1140 seconds
- 3⇔runner A: 20 minutes
- 4⇔runner C: 1500 seconds
- 5⇔runner B: half an hour
- Which of the following is not a valid unit for speed?
- N/m² ✓
- m/s
- kilometres per hour
- mph
- mm per min
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- Match the activity to the typical speed for that activity.
- walking⇔1.5 m/s ✓
- running⇔3 m/s ✓
- cycling⇔6 m/s ✓
- travelling in a car⇔30 m/s ✓
- travelling in a train⇔80 m/s ✓
- travelling in a plane⇔500 m/s ✓
- Two cyclists are racing up a hill. Cyclist A has a speed of 20 m/s and cyclist B travels 48 metres in 3 seconds. If the cyclists continue to travel at these same speeds, which statement is correct?
- cyclist B will win the race
- cyclist A will win the race ✓
- cyclist B has a higher speed
- cyclist A has travelled 20 metres in 3 seconds
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- Which of these distance–time graphs shows the motion of a stationary object?
- The motion of two cars, A and B, has been displayed on a distance–time graph. Which statement about the two cars is correct?
- A and B are travelling at the same speed
- B is travelling faster then A
- A and B are both stationary
- A is travelling faster than B ✓
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Exit quiz
- Match the key words or phrases to their definitions.
- average speed⇔the average distance travelled each second ✓
- instantaneous speed⇔the speed of an object at a particular moment of time ✓
- magnitude⇔the size of a quantity ✓
- scalar⇔a quantity that has only magnitude (not direction) ✓
- relative speed⇔the speed of one object compared to the speed of another object ✓
- Match the activity to the typical speed for that activity.
- running⇔3 m/s ✓
- walking⇔1.5 m/s ✓
- cycling⇔6 m/s ✓
- swiming⇔0.5 m/s ✓
- A skateboarder travels a distance of 400 m in 50 s. What is their average speed?
- 350 m/s
- 20 000 m/s
- 450 m/s
- 8 m/s ✓
- 0.125 m/s
-
- Sound waves travel at 330 m/s in air. A boy sees a firework explode in the distance. The sound arrives 6.0 s after the flash. How far away from the boy did the firework explode (to 2 s.f.)?
- 55 m
- 2.0 km ✓
- 1.0 km
- 200 m
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- Two cars are traveling in opposite directions (towards each other). The first car is travelling at 30 km/h and the second is travelling at 70 km/h. What is the relative speed of the cars?
- 30 km/h
- 70 km/h
- 40 km/h
- 100 km/h ✓
- 2100 km/h
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- During a race, cyclist A is traveling at 10 m/s and is 200 m behind cyclist B, who is travelling at 8 m/s in the same direction. How long will it take cyclist A to catch up with cyclist B?
- 20 s
- 25 s
- 160 s
- 250 s
- 100 s ✓
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Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Average speed = distance/time
- The speed of sound in air is about 330 m/s.
- Scalar quantities have magnitude only.
- Speed and distance are scalar quantities.
- Relative speed is the speed an object is moving towards or away from another object, which may also be moving.
Common misconception
Pupils often do not have an understanding of what moving at a particular speed means in the real world, and treat answers as ‘just numbers’.
Use real world examples of speeds through examples and questions asked (N.B. 10 m/s is approximately 20 miles per hour).
Keywords
Average speed - The average speed of an object is the distance it travels each second (m/s). It is a scalar quantity.
Instantaneous speed - The instantaneous speed of an object is the speed at a particular moment.
Scalar quantity - Some quantities only have magnitude (size), and not direction. This includes distance and speed.
Magnitude - A scalar quantity only has magnitude (size).
Relative speed - The relative speed of objects is the difference in their speeds taking into account direction of movement.