Question

A person taking part in a triathlon records his average speed for the three events - running, cycling and swimming. His average speed in swimming was 18 km/h, average speed in running was 7 m/s and the average speed in cycling was 2 km/min. Based on the given information, which of the following statement(s) is/are true?

• A. The average speed of cycling is higher than swimming and running.
• B. The average speed of swimming is higher than cycling and running.
• C. The average speed of running is higher than swimming.
• D. The average speed of all the three is the same.

Answer 1

Answer: (A), (C)

The correct options are
A

The average speed of cycling is higher than swimming and running.

C

The average speed of running is higher than swimming.

All the metrics have to be converted to the same units for easy comparison.

Let us convert it to m/s for convenience.

Speed while swimming $\Rightarrow 18\text{km/h}=18\times \frac{5}{18}\text{m/s}=5\text{m/s}$

Speed while running $\Rightarrow 7\text{m/s}$

Speed while cycling $\Rightarrow 2\text{km/min}$
$=2\times \left(\frac{1000}{60}\right)\text{m/s}=33.3\text{m/s}$

Therefore, the comparison of average speeds is as follows:

Cycling > Running > Swimming