MATH

Time, Speed & Distance

- Trains

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 TIME, SPEED & DISTANCE - TRAINS

Basics
The most important relationship between distance,
speed and time is
Distance Covered = Speed × Time
And the different ways of expressing the same
relationship will also come in handy while solving
problems in this section. They are
Speed = Distance  Time and
Time = Distance  Speed
Important Distance and Time Conversions
1 km = 1000 meter
1 meter = 100 cm
1 hour = 60 min
1 min = 60 sec
1 hour = 3600 sec
 1  1000  5
1 km/hr =    m/sec.
 1  3600  18
Conversion of speed from km/hr to m/s

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To convert the speed from km/hr to m/s, multiply the
speed by 5/18.
To convert the speed from m/s to km/hr, multiply the
speed by 18/5.
e.g. Convert 36 km/hr into m/s → 36 km/hr = 36 × 5/18 =
10 m/s.
e.g. Convert 20 m/s into km/hr → 20 m/s = 20 × 18/5 =72
km/hr.
Problems based on Speed, Time and Distance
Usually, problems in this subheading cover finding one of
the values, when the other two are provided. The
important thing to note in such problems is that the units
of all three quantities used are the same, i.e. if speed in
km/hr, then distance will have to be in km and time in
hours.
Ex 1: What is the distance covered by a car traveling at a
speed of 40 kmph in 15 minutes?
15
Sol: Distance covered = 40  = 10 km.
60
The important point to note is that time given was
in minutes, whereas the speed was in kmph.

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 Therefore, either speed will have to be expressed
as km/min or time will have to be expressed in
hours to apply the relationship.
In this case we converted time into hours to get the
answer. Conversely, converting speed into km/min,
40 2
we get 40 kmph = km/min = km/min
60 3
2
Therefore, distance traveled = 15  = 10 km.
3
Ex 2: A bus is moving at a speed of 50 kmph, how long is
it going to take to travel 60 km?
Sol: Distance = Speed  Time  Time = Distance 
60
Speed  = 1.2 hours = 1 hour and 12 minutes.
50
Note: While converting decimal hours into the
minutes, these are to be multiplied with 60 and not
by hundred.
Ex 3: A man covers 75 km in 90 minutes. What is his
speed in km/h?
Sol: Speed = Distance  Time.
Since, time is given in minutes and the required
answer is in km/h, we need to convert time into
equivalent hours.

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 90
90 minutes = = 1.5 hours.
60
75
Therefore, speed = = 50 km/h.
1 .5
5
Ex 4: Walking th of his usual speed, Mike reached his
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destination 10 minutes late. Find his usual time,
and the time taken on this occasion?
Sol: Let his usual speed be x km/hr and his usual time
be t hours.
His speed on this occasion is 5 x,
6

 10 
The time taken is  t   hours.
 60 

Since the distance travelled on both occasions is

the same, xt = 5x   t  10  .
6  60 
5
Solving for t, we get t = hours = 50 minutes, and
6
the time taken on this occasion
= 50 + 10 = 60 minutes.
Ex 4(a): If the distance traveled by Mike be 60 km, then
what was his usual speed and what was the speed
on this occasion?

4
 5
Sol: Usual time taken = 50 minutes = hours
6
The distance = 60 km.
60
Usual Speed = DistanceUsual Time = 72
5
6
kmph.
Speed on this occasion = Distance  Time on this
60
occasion = = 60 kmph.
1
Ex.5. Traveling at 6 km/hr, I reach my office 20 minutes
late. Traveling at 8 km/hr I reach my office 30
minutes early. What is my usual speed and time
taken to reach my office?
Sol: Let my usual speed be S km/hr and my usual time
bet hours.
 20   30 
Therefore, 6  t    8  t   . Solving for t, we get t
 60   60 
= 3 hours.
Since the usual time taken = 3 hours, usual
distance traveled = 3S kms,

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 Equating distance traveled usually, with distance
traveled at any of the other two speeds, we get
 20 
6  3    3S. Therefore, S = 6
2 km/hr.
 60  3

Relation between Speed, Distance and Time

1. If speeds of two objects are same, then the
distances covered by them are directly proportional
to the time taken by objects.
2. If time taken by both objects is same, then the
distances covered by them are directly proportional
to the speeds of objects. Therefore if speed
become twice of the original speed, then distance
covered will also become twice of original
distance.
3. If distance covered is constant, then speed and
time are inversely proportional to each other.
Therefore, if the speed becomes, say 0.5 times the
original speed, then the time taken becomes twice
as much as taken originally for the same distance.
Or if the ratio of the speed of two moving objects is
in the ratio of 3:4, the time taken by them to cover
identical distance will be in the ratio of 4:3.

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 Average Speed: When the time taken is the same:
The average speed of traveling at two different
speeds for the same time span is just the simple
average of these two speeds.
Ex 6: A motorist travels for one hour at an average speed
of 45 kmph and the next hour at an average speed
of 65 kmph. Then his average speed is
Sol: (45 + 65)  2 = 55 kmph.
The total distance traveled by the motorist in these
two hours = 65 + 45 = 110 km and he has taken
two hours. Therefore, his average speed = 55
kmph.
When the distance covered is the same:
However, the above simple average rule does not
work when the time span of each of the different
speeds is different and only the distance is the
same. In this case, one should take the simple
average of the inverses of the two speeds and then
again inverse the speed.
To derive a generalized expression to find the
average speed, when the distance is the same:

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Let the two speeds be a kmph and b kmph.
Let the distance traveled in each of the speeds be x km.
x
Time taken to cover x km at ‘a’ kmph = & at ‘b’ kmph
a
x
= .
b
x x bx  ax x (b  a )
Total time taken = + = = ,
a b ab ab
And the total distance covered = 2x.
2x 2ab
Therefore, average speed = = .
x (a  b ) a  b
ab
Ex 7: On my way from the office to the Pimpri class, I
drive at 30 kmph and on the return journey I drive
at 45 kmph. What is my average speed of travel?
Sol: 37.5 kmph is incorrect as the time traveled is
different in both the cases and only the distances
are same.
Let the distance between the office and Pimpri
class be x km.
x
Time taken on my onward journey = hours and
30

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 x
Time taken on my return journey = .
45
The total time taken for my onward and return
x x 5x
journey = + = hours.
30 45 90
The total distance traveled both ways = 2x km
2x
Average speed = = 36 kmph.
5x
90
2ab
Or average speed = = (2 × 30 × 45)/75 = 36
ab
kmph
Ex.8. In a cross-country race, a motorist averages a
speed of 140 mph during the first 4 hours and then
increases his average by 20 mph during the last 3
hours. What was his average speed during the
entire race?
Sol: Distance traveled in first 4 hours = 140×4 = 560
miles
Distance traveled in next 3 hours = 160×3 = 480
miles
Therefore, the total distance traveled = 1040 miles.
The total time taken = 7 hours.

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 Therefore, the average speed = 1040 = 148 4 mph.
7 7

Relative Speed and Trains

When two objects are moving in the same direction, then
their relative speed is the difference between the two
speeds.
When two objects are moving in the opposite direction,
then their relative speed is the sum of the two speeds.
Problems in this section will involve finding the distance
traveled by a train
When it crosses a stationary man / lamp post / sign post
/ pole - in all these cases the object which the train
crosses is stationary - and the distance travelled is the
length of the train.
When it crosses a platform / bridge - in these cases, the
object which the train crosses is stationary and the
distance traveled is the length of the train + length of the
object
When it crosses another train which is moving at a
particular speed in the same / opposite direction – in
these cases, the other train is also moving and the
relative speed between them is taken depending upon

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the direction of the other train - and the distance is the
sum of the lengths of both the trains
When two trains are crossing each other
Let us assume that the trains of length L1 and L2 and
speed V1 m/s and V2 m/s respectively are crossing each
other;
i. The direction of the movement of both the trains are
the same:

Relative speed = | V1 - V2 |
Total distance covered = L1 + L2
ii. The direction of the movement of both the trains are
opposite:

Relative speed = | V1 + V2 |
Total distance covered = L1 + L2

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When it crosses a car / bicycle / a mobile man - in these
cases again the relative speed between the train and the
object is taken depending upon the direction of the
movement of the other object relative to the train - and
the distance traveled is the length of the train.
Ex 9: A train traveling at 60 kmph crosses a man in 6
seconds. What is the length of the train?
5 50
Sol: Speed in m/sec = 60  = m/sec.
18 3
Time taken to cross the man = 6 seconds.
50
Therefore, distance traveled =  6 = 100 m =
3
length of the train.
Ex 10: A train traveling at 60 kmph crosses another train
traveling in the same direction at 50 kmph in 45
seconds. What is the combined length of both the
trains?
5 50
Sol: Speed of train A in m/sec = 60  = m/sec
18 3
5 125
Speed of train B in m/sec = 50  = m/sec
18 9
50 125 25
The relative speed is = - = m/sec.
3 9 9

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 Time taken for train A to cross train B = 45
seconds.
25
Therefore, distance traveled =  45 = 125 m
9
= Combined length of two trains.
Ex 11: A train crosses a signpost in 6 seconds and a car
traveling in the same direction at 50 kmph in 72
seconds. What is the length of train and the speed
at which it is traveling?
Sol: Case I: Let X km/hr be the speed of the train. = X ×
5/18 m/sec
Time taken to cross a signpost = 6 seconds.
Therefore distance traveled = X × 5/18 × 6 = 5X/3
m = length of the train
Case II:
The speed of the car = 50 km/hr.
Relative speed of the train w.r.t car = (X – 50)
km/hr = (X – 50) × 5/18 m/sec.
Time taken to cross the car = 72 seconds.
Therefore, distance traveled = (X – 50) × 5/18 × 72
= 20 (X – 50) m = length of train

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 Equating length of the train in Case I and Case II,
we get 5X/3 = 20 (X – 50).
Solving for X, we get X = 600/11 km/hr and the
length = 5/3 × 600/11 = 1000/11 m
Ex 12: A train traveling at 108 km/hr crosses a bridge of
600 m length completely in 30 seconds. What is
the length of the train?
Sol: Speed = 108 km/hr = 108 × 5/18 = 30 m/sec. Time
taken to cross = 30 seconds.
Therefore, distance traveled = 30 × 30 = 900 m.
Distance = Length of the train + length of the
bridge
900 = Length of the train + 600, so length of the
train = 300 m

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