Compare the motion of two bowhead whales. Which bowhead whale was moving at a lower speed?
a bowhead whale that moved 50miles in 10hours a bowhead whale that moved 20miles in 10hours
An object's speed tells you how fast the object is moving. Speed depends on both distance and time.
Distance tells you how far the object has moved. One unit used to measure distance is the mile.
Time tells you how long the object has spent moving. One unit used to measure time is the hour.
Think about two objects moving for the same amount of time. The object that is moving slower will go a shorter distance in that time. It is moving at a lower speed.
Look at the distance each bowhead whale moved and the time it took to move that distance.
One bowhead whale moved 20 miles in 10 hours.
The other bowhead whale moved 50 miles in 10 hours.
Notice that each bowhead whale spent the same amount of time moving. The bowhead whale that moved 20 miles moved a shorter distance in that time. So, that bowhead whale must have moved at a lower speed.