Calculating Average Speed of a Delivery Driver
Question:
A delivery driver drove south 230 km from Sawpit to Gassville. He then turned around and drove back north for 71 km to Mount Carmel. The total trip took 9 hours. What was the delivery driver's average speed?
Answer:
The average speed of the delivery driver can be calculated by dividing the total distance traveled by the total time taken. In this case, the driver traveled 230 km south and then 71 km north, covering a total distance of 230 km + 71 km = 301 km. Since the total trip took 9 hours, we can use the formula for average speed: average speed = total distance / total time.
Therefore, the average speed of the delivery driver = 301 km / 9 hours = 33.44 km/h.
Calculation of Average Speed:
To calculate the average speed, we need to divide the total distance by the total time taken. In this case, the delivery driver covered a total distance of 301 km and the total trip duration was 9 hours. Using the formula:
Average speed = Total distance / Total time
Substitute the values:
Average speed = 301 km / 9 hours = 33.44 km/h
Therefore, the delivery driver's average speed was approximately 33.44 kilometers per hour. This indicates the average speed at which the driver covered the entire trip from Sawpit to Gassville and back to Mount Carmel.