Time, Speed and Distance Quiz: Quantitative Aptitude Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. A scooter moves at 72 km/h. What is its speed in metres per second?

   • 18 m/s
   • 20 m/s
   • 24 m/s
   • 25 m/s

   Answer: 20 m/s. To convert km/h to m/s multiply by 5/18: 72 × 5/18 = 20 m/s.

2. A car covers 360 km in 4 hours 30 minutes. What is its average speed?

   • 90 km/h
   • 72 km/h
   • 85 km/h
   • 80 km/h

   Answer: 80 km/h. Write the time as 4.5 hours: 360 ÷ 4.5 = 80 km/h.

3. A man drives from town A to town B at 40 km/h and returns along the same road at 60 km/h. What is his average speed for the whole journey?

   • 48 km/h
   • 50 km/h
   • 45 km/h
   • 52 km/h

   Answer: 48 km/h. For equal distances, average speed = 2xy/(x + y) = 2 × 40 × 60/100 = 48 km/h. The simple average 50 is the trap.

4. Walking at 5 km/h, a clerk reaches office 6 minutes late; walking at 6 km/h, he reaches 4 minutes early. How far is his office?

   • 4 km
   • 6 km
   • 5 km
   • 7.5 km

   Answer: 5 km. The two times differ by 6 + 4 = 10 minutes = 1/6 hour. d/5 − d/6 = d/30 = 1/6, so d = 5 km.

5. Two cyclists start at the same time from towns 156 km apart and ride towards each other at 18 km/h and 21 km/h. After how long do they meet?

   • 3.5 hours
   • 4.5 hours
   • 5 hours
   • 4 hours

   Answer: 4 hours. Moving towards each other, the gap closes at 18 + 21 = 39 km/h: 156 ÷ 39 = 4 hours.

6. A thief running at 8 km/h is chased by a policeman who starts 15 minutes later at 10 km/h. How far does the policeman run before he catches the thief?

   • 8 km
   • 10 km
   • 12 km
   • 9 km

   Answer: 10 km. Head start = 8 × 1/4 = 2 km. Gap closes at 10 − 8 = 2 km/h, so it takes 1 hour, in which the policeman runs 10 km.

7. Walking at 3/4 of his usual speed, a man reaches his destination 20 minutes late. What is his usual time for the journey?

   • 60 minutes
   • 40 minutes
   • 80 minutes
   • 45 minutes

   Answer: 60 minutes. At 3/4 of the speed, time becomes 4/3 of usual. The extra 1/3 of the usual time = 20 minutes, so the usual time is 60 minutes.

8. A bus travels for 2 hours at 45 km/h and then for 3 hours at 60 km/h. What is its average speed for the whole trip?

   • 52.5 km/h
   • 55 km/h
   • 54 km/h
   • 56 km/h

   Answer: 54 km/h. Average speed = total distance ÷ total time = (90 + 180) ÷ 5 = 54 km/h. Because the times differ, the plain average 52.5 is wrong.

9. In a 1 km race, A beats B by 50 metres or by 10 seconds. How long does A take to finish the race?

   • 190 s
   • 200 s
   • 180 s
   • 210 s

   Answer: 190 s. B runs the last 50 m in 10 s, so B's speed is 5 m/s and B needs 1000/5 = 200 s. A finishes 10 s earlier: 190 s.

10. The speeds of A and B are in the ratio 3:4. A takes 30 minutes more than B to cover the same distance. How long does A take?

    • 1 hour 30 minutes
    • 2 hours 30 minutes
    • 1 hour 45 minutes
    • 2 hours

    Answer: 2 hours. For the same distance the time ratio is the inverse, 4:3. The 1-part difference is 30 minutes, so A takes 4 × 30 = 120 minutes = 2 hours.