Speed, Distance and Time Mastery

By the end of this lesson your child can find a speed, a distance or a time when they are given the other two, work out the average speed for a whole journey, and read a distance-time graph. Speed questions run from the 11+ right through GCSE Foundation, and they are where a child who has memorised a formula triangle gets stuck the moment the time stops being a whole number of hours.

Topics covered:

• Finding the speed, dividing a journey down until the table says what happens in one hour, for example 120 miles in 2 hours becomes 60 mph
• Finding the distance, scaling the one hour row up, including half hours, quarter hours and 90 minute journeys
• Finding the time, whole hours, half hours, minutes only trips such as 6 miles at 24 mph, and arrival times from a start time
• Average speed for a whole journey, there and back trips, and the difference between the moving average and the overall average that includes a stop
• Reading distance-time graphs, distance from home at a given time, the length of a rest, the furthest point, and total distance travelled
• Speed from a graph, comparing two parts of the same journey, and matching a written story to the graph that fits it

Your child works through the lesson on any screen. Every worked example is revealed one line at a time, and the ratio table fills in one cell per click, so they watch the numbers arrive in the order they would write them down. Two explore tools sit alongside the practice. In the Rate Lab they pick a story, then double, halve or add an hour to build the row they need. In the Journey Builder the lesson writes a journey and draws it part by part, with the story in words on one side and two separate readouts for distance from home and total distance travelled.

How it's structured:

• Each of the 6 units opens with worked examples your child clicks through line by line, then practice questions colour-coded easy, medium and hard
• 92 questions in total, every answer hidden behind click to reveal, with a reveal-all option on each slide
• A final 20-question mixed challenge pulling from all 6 units, so your child has to work out which skill the question needs before they start

The one hour row is what makes these questions work. A formula triangle hides what "per hour" means and falls apart on a two and a half hour journey. This lesson uses a ratio table instead, distance to time, with the one hour row written first every single time. To reach 2 and a half hours at 24 km/h your child halves the one hour row to get 12 km in 30 minutes, then multiplies by five. The same three moves handle speed, distance and time, so there is one method to remember rather than three rearrangements of a formula.

Use this if:

• Your child is in Year 4 to Year 11 and can do 3 hours at 60 mph but freezes on 90 minutes at 60 mph
• You're preparing for the 11+, where speed turns up as a word problem about a coach, a ferry or a bike ride
• Your child is doing GCSE Foundation and writes 1.5 h instead of 1 h 30 min
• You want a resource your child can check their own work with, not one more thing on your to-do list

Built by an experienced maths teacher with over 3,000 hours of one-to-one tutoring experience and a Master's in Education.

Better value as a bundle. This lesson is one of 5 in the Coordinates, Measures & Time Bundle, all 5 for £19.99 instead of £29.95 bought separately.

Format: Interactive digital lesson, link sent by email straight after purchase.
Suitable for: Year 4 to Year 11, 11+, KS2, KS3, KS4, GCSE Foundation.

Who this is for

Built for students who want to practise independently, at their own pace, with clear examples and instant feedback rather than a static worksheet.