How to Calculate Speed
Anybody can use a speedometer to find out how fast they're going. These aren't always 100 percent accurate (just ask somebody who's been pulled over before). You may also be faced with a situation where you need to find the speed of something else other than a car on the highway. Thankfully, a simple mathematical equation can help you calculate speed.
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Instructions
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Begin by determining the distance that you or the object traveled. For this example, suppose that it took you exactly 12 seconds to finish a race.
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Calculate how much time it took to make it to that distance. Using the time from above, we'll suppose that the race is 100 meters in length. You should try to get both numbers as accurate possible. Inaccurate numbers for either distance or time will make your final speed calculation slightly off.
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Divide the number for the distance by the amount of time it took to arrive to that distance. An easier way to say this is speed=distance/time, or s=d/t. Therefore, for this example, the equation reads: s=100m/12seconds. Therefore, your speed would be about 8.33 meters per second.
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Tips & Warnings
Remember that you may need to convert some units to other units in order to find the exact calculation you want. If you've traveled kilometers, for example, and you want to know how many miles per hour you've traveled, you will need to convert kilometers to miles. You can do this by going to the Online Conversion website (see Resources below).
Resources
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boring!
