Question

On May 26, 1934, a streamlined, stainless steel diesel train called the Zephyr set the world's nonstop long-distance speed record for trains. Its run from Denver to Chicago took 13 hours, 4 minutes, 58 seconds, and was witnessed by more than a million people along the route. The total distance traveled was 1633.8 km. What was its average speed in km/h?

Answer 1

Average speed = total distance / total time
If the unit is to be in km/hr, then distance must be in km, and time converted to decimal hours.
To convert hr-min-sec to hours,
decimal hours = h+(m+s/60)/60
Example:
4 hours 24 min 18s
=4+(24+18/60)/60
=4+(24+0.3)/60 ....... remember PEMDAS
=4+24.3/60
=4+0.405
=4.405 hours