Speed Calculator

Please provide any two values to the fields below to calculate the third value in the speed distance time equation of

speed =  distance
time

Modify the values and click the calculate button to use
Speed
Distance
Time
hour min sec 

Speed Converter

The following converter converts between common speed units.

Amount
From
To

Speed, distance, and time

What is speed?

Speed is defined as the rate at which an object covers distance. It describes how quickly or slowly an object moves from one place to another. The standard (SI) unit of speed is meters per second (m/s), but it can also be expressed in other units, such as kilometers per hour (km/h), miles per hour (mph), or feet per second (ft/s), depending on the context or the country's measurement system.

The relationship between speed, distance, and time

Speed, distance, and time are closely interconnected and can be thought of as three pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly. The relationship can be summarized by the formula:

speed =  distance
time

This formula shows that:

Example:

Imagine you are riding a bicycle at a constant speed of 10 meters per second (m/s) for 1 minute. How far will you have traveled by the end of that minute?

First, convert the time into seconds because our speed is in meters per second. One minute equals 60 seconds. Now, using the distance formula:

distance = speed × time
= 10 m/s × 60 s
= 600 m

This means you will have traveled 600 meters in one minute.


Understanding the relationship between speed, distance, and time is not just about solving physics problems; it helps us in everyday situations. Whether you are trying to calculate how long it will take to get to school at a certain speed, how fast you need to run to win a race, or even how speed limits on roads are determined to ensure safety, these concepts are incredibly useful.

Common speed units

  m/s km/h mph kn ft/s
1 meter/second [m/s] = 1 3.6 2.236928 1.943844 3.280840
1 kilometer/hour [km/h] = 0.277778 1 0.621369 0.539957 0.911344
1 mile/hour [mph] = 0.44704 1.60935 1 0.868979 1.466672
1 knot [kn] = 0.514444 1.852 1.150775 1 1.687810
1 foot/second [ft/s] = 0.3048 1.09728 0.681816 0.592484 1

Examples of different speeds

  m/s km/h mph
Average walking speed 1.4 5 3.1
Peak human running speed 12.42 44.7 27.8
Peak cheetah running speed 33.53 120.7 75
Average orbital speed of the Earth 29,783 107,218 66,623
Average orbital speed of the Sun 251,000 904,000 561,000
Speed of sound in air (sea level, 20°C) 343 1,235 768
Speed of light in vacuum 299,792,458 1,079,252,848 670,616,629
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