IXL - Calculate speed, distance, or time: word problems (Algebra 1 practice)

Last week, Kristen completed a 5,000-meter run in 40 minutes. What was her speed?

Write your answer as a whole number or decimal.

meters per minute

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Learn with an example

question

Shannon learns from a wildlife documentary that cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world. The documentary shows a cheetah running at a speed of 31 meters per second. How far does the cheetah run in 15 seconds?

Write your answer as a whole number or decimal.

meters

key idea

Speed measures how quickly a person or object is traveling. When the speed is constant, it is equal to the ratio of the distance traveled to the time spent traveling.

speed

distance

time

solution

You were asked to calculate the distance the cheetah runs. Read the problem to find the cheetah's speed and the time it spends running.

The documentary shows a cheetah running at a speed of 31 meters per

second.

How far does the cheetah run in 15

seconds?

You want to know how many meters the cheetah runs in 15 seconds. The cheetah can run 31 meters in 1 second. Find an equivalent rate with a denominator of 15 seconds.

31 meters

1 second

? meters

15 seconds

Multiply both the numerator and the denominator of the first fraction by 15.

(

31 meters

)

(

1 second

)

465 meters

15 seconds

This tells you the cheetah runs 465 meters in 15 seconds.

You can also find the distance by multiplying the speed by the time.

distance

speed

time

(

31 meters per second

)

(

15 seconds

)

465 meters

Looking for more? Try these:

Lesson: Unit rates

Lesson: Ratios

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Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

Unit rates

Solve proportions

Solve proportions: word problems

Lesson: Unit rates

Lesson: Ratios

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