The ant travels a path that is 1m in length to cover a direct distance of 50cm from start to finish, and the ant takes 2minutes to complete the trip. We are asked to find the ant's average speed.
The formula for average speed is distance traveled divided by time traveled. So the average speed is 1m/2min or 1/2m per minute. (This is 30m per hour or .030km/hr)
The average speed is 1/2m per minute.
Note that the ant's velocity is different. Velocity is the change in position (displacement) divided by the time. Here we would have 50cm/2min or 25cm per min. This is 15m per hour or .015km/hr. Velocity is a vector quantity (having both direction and magnitude) while speed is a scalar quantity.
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