Speed

Speed is a rate that compares distance with time, so a car that covers \(150\) km in \(2\) hours travels at \(150 \div 2 = 75\) km/h. In NSW Year 8 maths, students use the speed formula in all three forms to find speed, distance or time (NESA outcome MA4‑RAT‑C‑01).

You will change minutes into fractions or decimals of an hour and back, convert between km/h and m/s, and find the average speed for a trip with several parts and rests, rather than averaging the speeds. You will also compare runners, work out how long a bus stops each hour, find when a fast water taxi catches a ferry, and find the speed a bus needs to get back on time. It is part of Year 8 Time and Travel.