Overview: Mastering the aptitude section is crucial to ace the design entrance exams. Let's look at some important questions of speed, time, and distance for design entrance exams.

When discussing design entrance exams, we cannot skip talking over aptitude. The Aptitude section has some of the most tricky questions from the very basic area of mathematics.

Go through this article to understand the basic concepts and applications of speed, distance, and time formulas.

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Speed, Time, and Distance Concepts

Speed, distance, and time are essential mathematics concepts used in calculating rates and distances.

This is one area every student preparing for competitive exams should be familiar with, as questions concerning motion in a straight line, circular motion, boats and streams, races, clocks, etc., often require knowledge of the relationship between speed, time, and distance.

Understanding these inter-relationships will help aspirants interpret these questions accurately during the exams.

Units of Speed, Time, and Distance

The most commonly used units of speed, time, and distance are:

• Speed: kilometres per hour (km/h), meters per second (m/s), miles per hour (mph), feet per second (ft/s).
• Time: seconds (s), minutes (min), hours (h), days (d).
• Distance: kilometers (km), meters (m), miles (mi), feet (ft).

For example, to convert km/h to m/s, multiply by 5/18, and to convert m/s to km/h, multiply by 18/5. 

Being familiar with these units and their conversions can help you efficiently solve quantitative aptitude questions related to speed, time, and distance.

Relationship Between Speed, Time & Distance

Understanding the relationship between speed, time, and distance is essential to solve problems.

• Speed = Distance/Time

An object's speed describes how fast or slow it moves and is calculated as distance divided by time.

Speed is directly proportional to distance and inversely proportional to time.

• Distance = Speed X Time

The distance an object travels is proportional to its speed – the faster it moves, the greater the distance covered.

• Time = Distance / Speed

Time is inversely proportional to speed – the faster an object moves, the less time it takes to cover a certain distance.

As speed increases, time taken decreases, and vice versa

Read more: Important Aptitude Formulae for Design Entrance Exams

Sample Speed, Time, and Distance Questions with Answers

Q1: The speed of a car is 180km/h. Find its speed in m/s?

Solution

Speed = 180km/h

1 km/h = 5/18 km/s

180 km/h = 5/18 x 180

= 50m/sec

Q2: How much distance A will cover in 2 hr 40 min if it is travelling @ 5m/sec?

Solution:

Given Speed = 5m/sec

Time = 2hr 40 mins

= 2 x 60 + 40

= 120 + 40

= 160 mins

Now, multiply 160 by 60 to convert it into seconds.

160x60 = 9600 sec

distance covered in 1 sec = 5m

So in 2hr 40 mins or 9600 sec, the travelled distance is :

9600 x 5 = 48000 m

Now Convert

1km = 1000 m

1 m = 1/1000 km

So,

48000m/1000m = 48 km 

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Another Short method to answer this question is :

Distance = Speed x time

5 x 9600 sec = 48000 m

5x9600/1000 = 48 km 

Read more: How to prepare Aptitude for Design Exams?

Q3. To cover a certain distance, a man had two options: to ride a horse or walk. If he walked one side and rode back the other side, it would have taken 4 hours. If he had walked both ways, it would have taken 6 hours. How much time would he take if he rode the horse both ways? 
 

Solution : 

Time taken to walk one side + Time taken to ride one side = 4 hours 

Time taken to walk both sides = 2 x Time taken to walk one side = 6 hours 

=> Time taken to walk one side = 3 hours 

Therefore, time taken to ride one side = 4 – 3 = 1 hour 

Thus, time taken to ride both sides = 2 x 1 = 2 hours 

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Speed distance and time: Additional Questions for Solving

Q: An Aeroplane flies along the four sides of a square at a speed of 200, 400, 600, and 800 km/hr, respectively. What is the plane's speed around the field in km/hr?

Q: A student goes to school at the rate of 5/2km per hour from his house and arrives 6 minutes late. If he travels at the speed of 3 km/hr, he reaches the school 10 minutes earlier, which is the distance of the school from the house.

Q: A student goes to school at a rate of 3km/ hr from his house and returns at 2km/h. It takes him 10 hrs to travel. Find the distance travelled by him. 

Q: Walking 5/6th of his speed, Mike reached his destination 10 minutes late. Find his usual time and the time taken on this occasion. 

Q: How long will it take a person to cover 300km if he travels at 50km/h and takes a 5-minute break after every 40 km? 

Q: Excluding stoppages, the speed of a bus is 54km/h, including stoppages, which is 45 km/h. For how many minutes does the bus stop per hour? 

Q: A man goes to the market on foot and returns by bike from the market to home in 35 minutes. If he rides a bike, it takes 10 min. How much time does it take if he goes to the market and comes back on foot? 

Q: A plane leaves 30 minutes later than usual, and to reach the destination 15000 km away, it has to increase its speed by 100km/h from the usual speed. Find the usual speed. 

Q: The ratio of speed a,b,c,d is 4:6:8:9. They travel a distance of 236 km. The slowest car takes 144 minutes to reach the distance. How much is the fastest car going to take?

Read more: Best Books for Design Entrance Exams

Key Takeaways

• Mastering quantitative aptitude topics such as Speed, Time, and Distance is crucial for candidates appearing in design entrance exams.
• Candidates must be prepared for a variety of questions that test their speed, time, and distance skills, from calculating average speeds to solving complex distance-time problems.