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A car covers a distance of 150 km in 3 hours and another 200 km in 5 hours. What is the average speed?
43.75 km/h
45 km/h
42 km/h
44.5 km/h
43.75 km/h
Sum up all individual distances and divide by the sum of total times directly instead of calculating separate speeds.
Distance 1 = 150 km, Time 1 = 3 hours, Distance 2 = 200 km, Time 2 = 5 hours
Average Speed=Total TimeTotal Distance
Sum up all individual distances and divide by the sum of total times directly instead of calculating separate speeds.
Averaging the speeds directly instead of dividing total distance by total time.
Identify Given Values
Note the distances covered and the corresponding time taken for each part of the journey: d1=150 km, t1=3 hours, d2=200 km, and t2=5 hours.
d1=150 km,t1=3 hr,d2=200 km,t2=5 hr
Calculate Total Distance and Total Time
Find the sum of all distances and the sum of all times to get the overall quantities: Total Distance=150+200=350 km and Total Time=3+5=8 hours.
Total Distance=350 km,Total Time=8 hours
Apply Average Speed Formula
Substitute the total distance and total time into the average speed formula: Average Speed=8350=43.75 km/h.
Average Speed=8350=43.75 km/h
A is correct because the average speed calculated as total distance divided by total time is 43.75 km/h.
This concept frequently appears in relative motion and time-speed-distance problems in railway and competitive exams.