Home > College Board Tests > SAT: SAT Preparation Center > Mathematics Review > Number and Operations
Number and Operations
Average Speed
Problem: José traveled for 2 hours at a rate of 70 kilometers per hour and for 5 hours at a rate of 60 kilometers per hour. What was his average speed for the 7-hour period?
Solution: In this situation, the average speed is
The total distance was 
The total time was 7 hours. Thus, the average speed was 
Note: In this example, the average speed over the 7-hour period is not the average of the two given speeds, which would be 65 kilometers per hour.
