Ceist Eile

Ceist Eile is in development. Features, questions and prices may change while we refine it.

Junior Cycle · Junior Cycle Maths

Junior Cycle Maths: Speed, distance & time

How often Speed, distance & time comes up on the Maths papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

OL Asked on 4 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Speed, distance & time, Higher Level(8 marks)

Quick ones on Speed, distance & time.

(a)A car travels 150 km in 1 hour 40 minutes. What is its average speed?
  1. 107 km/h
  2. 90 km/h
  3. 88 km/h
(b)Write 20 minutes as a fraction of an hour.
  1. 0.3 hour
  2. 0.2 hour
  3. 1/3 hour
(c)A cyclist rides at 24 km/h for 45 minutes. How far does she go?
  1. 18 km
  2. 32 km
  3. 10.8 km
Show the answers

(a) 90 km/h

(b) 1/3 hour

(c) 18 km

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Speed, distance & time.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q5
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Q8
2022Q10

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Speed, distance & time questions

Speed, distance & time, 2 marks

A train leaves at 21:35 and the journey takes 2 h 50 min. When does it arrive?

  1. 23:25
  2. 01:25
  3. 00:25
Show the answer

00:25

21:35 + 2 h = 23:35. Then 50 more minutes: 25 minutes takes it to midnight (00:00), and 25 more gives 00:25.

Speed, distance & time, 3 marks

Convert 72 km/h to metres per second.

  1. 259.2 m/s
  2. 20 m/s
  3. 1.2 m/s
Show the answer

20 m/s

72 km = 72 000 m and 1 h = 3600 s, so 72 000 ÷ 3600 = 20 m/s. Quick check: divide km/h by 3.6 to get m/s.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 4 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q4
2025Q12, Q13
2024Q4
2023Not asked
2022Q3

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Speed, distance & time questions

Speed, distance & time, 2 marks

Ciara drives 150 km in 2 hours. What is her average speed?

  1. 300 km/h
  2. 50 km/h
  3. 75 km/h
Show the answer

75 km/h

Average speed = distance ÷ time = 150 ÷ 2 = 75 km/h. Multiplying instead (300) gives a speed that is far too big.

Speed, distance & time, 2 marks

A train leaves at 21:35. The journey takes 45 minutes. When does it arrive?

  1. 22:30
  2. 22:20
  3. 22:10
Show the answer

22:20

25 minutes takes you from 21:35 to 22:00. The other 20 minutes takes you on to 22:20.

Speed, distance & time, 3 marks

How long does it take to walk 6 km at 4 km/h?

  1. 1 hour 30 minutes
  2. 1 hour 50 minutes
  3. 24 hours
Show the answer

1 hour 30 minutes

Time = distance ÷ speed = 6 ÷ 4 = 1.5 hours. Half an hour is 30 minutes, so it is 1 hour 30 minutes, not 1 hour 50.

Other Maths topics

All of Junior Cycle Maths