A man walks from A to B at 5 km/h and returns from B to A at 4 km/h. What is his average speed for the whole journey?
- AOption (a)
4.4 km/h
- BOption (b)
4.5 km/h
- COption (c)
4.6 km/h
- DOption (d)
4.8 km/h
View answer & explanationHide answer & explanation
Correct answer
4.4 km/h
Why this answer is correct
Shortcut Trick
When an equal distance is covered at two different speeds x and y, the average speed is given by the Harmonic Mean formula.
Average Speed = (2 × x × y) / (x + y)
Here, x = 5 km/h and y = 4 km/h.
Average Speed = (2 × 5 × 4) / (5 + 4) = 40 / 9 ≈ 4.44 km/h.
∴ The correct answer is 4.4 km/h.
Alternate Method
Given:
Speed from A to B (v1) = 5 km/h
Speed from B to A (v2) = 4 km/h
Formula Used:
Average Speed = Total Distance ÷ Total Time
⇒ Let the distance between A and B be 'd' km.
⇒ Time taken to go from A to B (t1) = Distance ÷ Speed = d / 5 hours.
⇒ Time taken to return from B to A (t2) = Distance ÷ Speed = d / 4 hours.
⇒ Total Distance for the whole journey = d + d = 2d km.
⇒ Total Time taken = t1 + t2 = d/5 + d/4 = (4d + 5d) / 20 = 9d / 20 hours.
⇒ Average Speed = Total Distance ÷ Total Time = 2d ÷ (9d/20)
⇒ Average Speed = (2d × 20) / 9d = 40 / 9 km/h
⇒ Average Speed ≈ 4.44 km/h
∴ The correct answer is 4.4 km/h.
Additional Information
Average Speed (Equal Time Intervals)
If a person travels at speed v1 for time t and speed v2 for the same time t, the average speed is the Arithmetic Mean: (v1 + v2) / 2.
General Average Speed Formula
For any journey with different distances d1, d2 and speeds v1, v2, Average Speed = (d1 + d2) / (d1/v1 + d2/v2).
Relative Speed
When two objects move in opposite directions, relative speed = v1 + v2. In the same direction, relative speed = |v1 − v2|.