Speed, Distance & Time
Dr. Davinder Bhachu & Nick Featherstone
Teachers
Contents
Introduction - Speed, Distance & Time
These questions are based on a fundamental relationship:
Speed = Distance / Time
You can rearrange this triangle to solve for any one of the three variables:
Distance =
Time =
Why SDT Appears in UCAT:
This topic mimics real-world scenarios like:
Ambulance travel times
Patient transfer delays
Drug infusion rates based on time or volume
Key Skills You’ll Use:
Rearranging and applying formulas
Converting between minutes and hours
Interpreting and comparing numerical information quickly
Quick Conversions to Remember:
hour = minutes
Speed in km/h or m/s ()
Time must match speed units e.g. don’t mix minutes with without converting
Explainer Video
Filmed by our Maths department, this video walks through how to approach SDT questions and apply the triangle formula under time pressure.
Worked Examples
Question 1 - Easy
An ambulance travels at for hours. How far does it go?
Answer
Worked Solution
Distance = Speed × Time
Question 2 - Easy
Hospital Couriers Three hospital couriers (Ali, Ben, and Carla) each complete a delivery route between hospitals A, B, and C.
Route A–B
Route B–C
Route C–A
Ali cycles at
Ben drives at
Carla uses a motorbike at
How long does it take Ali to complete Route A–B?
Answer
hours
Worked solution
hours
Question 3 - Easy
How far does Ben travel in 30 minutes?
Answer
Worked solution
Question 4 - Medium
Carla completes Route B–C travelling at her average speed however she gets stuck at in unmoving traffic for 20 minutes. How long does she take in total to get from B to C in minutes?
Answer
minutes
Worked solution
hour , add minutes to that for the unmoving traffic i.e. minutes
Question 5 - Hard
Ali and Carla start from Hospital A at the same time. Ali travels Route A–B while Carla goes from A to C. Who arrives first and by how much time?
Answer
Carla arrives first by minutes
Worked solution
Ali: hours
Carla: hours ( hour mins)
Worked Examples Video