6th Grade Word Problems (Average Speed)

The following are some examples with worked solutions of 6th Grade Math Word Problems that deals with average speeds.

Example

Point A and Point B are 120 m apart. Point B and Point C are 300 m apart. Ben ran from Point A to Point B in 15 seconds. Then, he runs from Point B to Point C in 55 seconds. Find Ben’s average speed for the distance from Point A to Point C.

Solution:

Total distance from Point A to Point C = 120 + 300 = 420 m
Time taken to run from Point A to Point C = 15 + 55 = 70 s

Ben’s average speed is 6 m/s.

Example:

Pauline swam for 100 seconds at a speed of 2.5 m/s. Then, she swam for another 100 seconds at a speed of 1.5 m/s. Find Pauline’s average speed.

Solution:

For the first part,
Distance swum = 2.5 × 100 = 250 m
For the second part,
Distance swum = 1.5 × 100 = 150 m
Total distance swum = 250 + 150 = 400 m
Total time taken = 100 + 100 = 200 s
Average speed = 400 ÷ 200 = 2 m/s
Pauline’s average speed was 2 m/s

Average Speed Word Problems
Examples:

1. Mr. Myones drives 3 hours at an average speed of 40 miles per hour. Then he drives 2 hours at a speed of 35 miles per hour. What is his average speed for the whole trip?
   
2. Miss Holton drives 4 hours at an average speed of 30 miles per hour. Then she drives 2 hours at a speed of 45 miles per hour. What is her speed for the whole trip?
   
3. A family took 2 hours to drive from City A to City B at a speed of 55 miles per hour. On the way home they took 3 hours at a speed of 40 miles per hour. What was their average speed for the whole trip?
   

Find average speed given rates and distances-word problem
Example:
Jack traveled 360 km at an average speed of 80 km/h. Elaine took 1.5 hours more to complete the same amount of distance. What was Elaine’s average speed for the whole journey?

• Show Step-by-step Solutions

Check out our most popular games!

We welcome your feedback, comments and questions about this site or page. Please submit your feedback or enquiries via our Feedback page.