Quantitative Aptitude

Time, Speed and Distance

2,165 Questions
All Core formulas and unit conversion 441 Boats and streams effective speed 396 Relative speed, meetings, and overtaking 375 Average speed 362 Early and late arrival 321 Proportional relationships 202 Stoppage time per hour 35 Train and stationary or moving object crossing 17 Races and dead heats 16

Time, Speed and Distance Questions

Multiple choice

A professional cyclist, Elena, is training for a cycling race and decides to test her endurance. She plans a round-trip cycling route from her home to a neighboring city and back. On her journey to the neighboring city, she cycles at an average speed of 12 miles per hour. On her return journey, she cycles at an average speed of 18 miles per hour. If the total time for the round trip is 5 hours, what is the average speed for her entire journey?

  1. 7.2 miles per hour

  2. 14.4 miles per hour

  3. 16 miles per hour

  4. 16.5 miles per hour

  5. 17 miles per hour
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Let the one-way distance be d. Time 1 = d/12, Time 2 = d/18. Total time = d/12 + d/18 = 5. (3d + 2d) / 36 = 5, so 5d/36 = 5, d = 36 miles. Total distance = 72 miles. Total time = 5 hours. Average speed = 72 / 5 = 14.4 mph.

Multiple choice

The distance between points P and Q is 108 miles. Two joggers start running from P and Q simultaneously toward each other. The jogger who starts from P runs at a constant speed of 6 miles per hour. Meanwhile, the other jogger runs with varying speeds: in the first hour, the speed is 4 miles per hour; in the second hour, it is 5 miles per hour; in the third hour, it is 6 miles per hour; and so on. When will they meet each other?

  1. 48 miles away from P

  2. 32 miles away from Q

  3. After 18 hours from the start

  4. After 5 hours from the start

  5. Midway between P and Q
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Jogger 1 (from P) speed = 6 mph. Jogger 2 (from Q) speeds: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... Distance covered by J2 in n hours is the sum of an arithmetic progression: n/2 * (2*4 + (n-1)*1) = n/2 * (n+7). Total distance = 6n + n/2 * (n+7) = 108. Multiplying by 2: 12n + n^2 + 7n = 216, so n^2 + 19n - 216 = 0. Factoring: (n+27)(n-8) = 0. They meet after 8 hours. Distance from P = 6 * 8 = 48 miles.

Multiple choice

A long-distance runner is training for a marathon. On the half of his 21-mile training run, he maintains an average speed of 6 miles per hour. To achieve his goal of averaging 7 miles per hour for the entire run, at what average speed (in miles per hour) must he complete the remaining 10.5 miles of the run?

  1. 7.2 miles per hour

  2. 8.4 miles per hour

  3. 9.4 miles per hour

  4. 9.8 miles per hour

  5. 10.4 miles per hour
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Total distance = 21 miles. Goal speed = 7 mph. Total time = 21 / 7 = 3 hours. First half (10.5 miles) at 6 mph takes 10.5 / 6 = 1.75 hours. Remaining time = 3 - 1.75 = 1.25 hours. Required speed for remaining 10.5 miles = 10.5 / 1.25 = 8.4 mph.

Multiple choice

A delivery truck driver was making deliveries across different cities and initially drove at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour on the highway to meet a strict deadline. However, after entering the city limits with traffic and speed regulations, the driver had to slow down to 54 kilometers per hour for safety and compliance. The company wants to know approximately how many miles per hour the speed was reduced to assess fuel consumption and time management more accurately. (Use 1 kilometer ≈ 0.625 mile)

  1. 41

  2. 51

  3. 66

  4. 78

  5. 90
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Initial speed = 120 km/hr = 120 * 0.625 = 75 mph. Final speed = 54 km/hr = 54 * 0.625 = 33.75 mph. The reduction is 75 - 33.75 = 41.25 mph, which is approximately 41.

Multiple choice

A long-distance bus service company operates a route between two cities that are 300 miles apart. On the way to the destination, the bus travels at an average speed of 75 miles per hour due to minimal traffic. However, on the return trip along the same route, heavy traffic reduces the average speed to 50 miles per hour. What is the average speed of the bus for the entire round trip?

  1. 55 miles per hour

  2. 57 miles per hour

  3. 60 miles per hour

  4. 62 miles per hour

  5. 66 miles per hour
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Average speed = Total distance / Total time. Total distance = 300 + 300 = 600 miles. Time 1 = 300/75 = 4 hours. Time 2 = 300/50 = 6 hours. Average speed = 600 / (4+6) = 60 mph.

Multiple choice

Seeta and Geeta start moving towards each other from two places 200 m apart. After walking 40 m, Geeta turns left and goes 15 m, then she turns right and goes 25 m. She then turns right again and comes back to the road on which she had started walking. If Seeta and Geeta walk with the same speed, what is the distance between them now?

  1. 40 m

  2. 35 m

  3. 55 m

  4. 65 m
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Geeta's path: 40m forward, 15m left, 25m right, then back to the road. This implies she moved 15m perpendicular to the road and then returned. The net displacement along the road is 40 + 25 = 65m. Seeta also moved 65m towards Geeta. Total distance covered by both is 65 + 65 = 130m. Remaining distance = 200 - 130 = 70m. However, the path geometry suggests a different interpretation; if they are 40m apart, the question implies a specific geometric configuration.

Multiple choice

A car covers a certain distance in 8 hours and then the car reduced the speed by 12 kmph, it will cover the same distance in 10 hours. What is the distance travelled by car?

  1. 360 km

  2. 320 km

  3. 420 km

  4. 480 km
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Let the initial speed of the car be S km/h. Since the distance is the same, we can set up the equation 8 * S = 10 * (S - 12), which simplifies to 2S = 120, or S = 60 km/h. Thus, the distance travelled is 8 * 60 = 480 km.

Multiple choice

A plane left 2 h later than the scheduled time and in order to reach its destination 2400 km away in time, it had to increase its speed by 33.33% over its usual speed. Find the new increased speed?

  1. 300 kmph

  2. 200 kmph

  3. 100 kmph

  4. 400 kmph
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Let original speed be v. Time taken = 2400/v. New speed = 1.333v = 4/3 v. New time = 2400 / (4/3 v) = 1800/v. Difference = 2400/v - 1800/v = 2. 600/v = 2, so v = 300. New speed = 1.333 * 300 = 400.

Multiple choice

Directions: The table below represents the distance (in km) travelled by five trucks on six different days of the week. Read the table and answer the question based on it. Day Trucks P Q R S T Monday 240 250 320 325 330 Tuesday 320 264 308 314 318 Wednesday 324 294 330 312 310 Thursday 288 300 310 278 260 Friday 366 302 288 292 270 Saturday 292 284 260 274 280 If the time taken by truck Q on Friday was 8 hours, then what was its speed on that day?

  1. 37.75 km/hr

  2. 42.50 km/hr

  3. 28.251 km/hr

  4. 32.25 km/hr

  5. NA
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Distance for truck Q on Friday is 302 km. Time = 8 hours. Speed = Distance / Time = 302 / 8 = 37.75 km/hr.