Time, Speed, and Distance Questions is a basic and one of the most important factors in the Quantitative Ability section of CAT exam and is mostly asked from direct and application-based questions. These distance/speed and time questions of CAT exam, test student’s ability to analyze the movement of a person or object, relative speed, average speed and the duration of time/distance in different scenarios. Time speed and distance CAT questions are majorly based on trains, boats and streams, races, and circular paths. While the formulas are simple, CAT questions represent the logical difficulties that will test the test-taker's knowledge of the subject more than reiteration of the exact formulas.
Understanding how to write the equations, visualize the motion, and acknowledge potential issues are important for allowing the time and distance questions to be solved quickly and correctly within the given time frame in CAT exam 2025. Furthermore, TSD questions can typically be solved faster than other topics in Quant, delivering high scoring marks if the concepts are understood. In this article, we will examine a range of time speed distance questions on CAT along with their solutions.
Time Speed and Distance CAT Questions
The following table contains time and distance problems for CAT exam preparation. Students may solve the same and track their time to know about their speed and accuracy as well.
Q.No. | Question |
1 | A train 180 meters long crosses a platform 300 meters long in 36 seconds. Find the speed of the train in km/h. |
2 | A man walks at 5 km/h. After every 1 km, he takes a rest of 5 minutes. How long will he take to cover 5 km? |
3 | Two trains of equal length take 10 seconds and 15 seconds to cross a pole. Find the ratio of their speeds. |
4 | A train moving at 72 km/h takes 20 seconds to pass a man running at 6 km/h in the same direction. Find the length of the train. |
5 | A man can row 6 km/h in still water. If the river flows at 2 km/h, how long will he take to row 10 km downstream? |
6 | A car travels 1/3 of the distance at 40 km/h, 1/3 at 60 km/h, and the last 1/3 at 90 km/h. Find the average speed. |
7 | A person reduces his speed by 20% and reaches his destination 10 minutes late. Find his usual time of travel. |
8 | A train running at 54 km/h crosses a bridge in 36 seconds. If the train is 150 m long, find the length of the bridge. |
9 | A cyclist travels a certain distance and returns. On the onward journey, he travels at 10 km/h, and on the return at 15 km/h. Find the average speed. |
10 | A 120-meter-long train crosses a man standing on a platform in 6 seconds. Find its speed. |
11 | Two trains are moving in opposite directions at 60 km/h and 90 km/h. Their lengths are 300 m and 200 m. How long will they take to cross each other? |
12 | A bus covers a certain distance in 4 hours. If its speed is increased by 10 km/h, the journey takes 48 minutes less. Find the original speed. |
13 | A boat covers 60 km downstream in 3 hours and the same distance upstream in 5 hours. Find the speed of the boat in still water. |
14 | A train takes 12 seconds to cross a man and 18 seconds to cross a platform. If the train’s length is 240 m, find the platform's length. |
15 | A man covers a certain distance by car at 60 km/h and returns at 40 km/h. What is the average speed for the entire journey? |
16 | Two cars start from the same point. One goes east at 60 km/h and the other goes north at 80 km/h. How far apart will they be after 2 hours? |
17 | A train 400 m long passes a platform in 30 seconds and a man in 20 seconds. Find the length of the platform. |
18 | A man walks from A to B at 4 km/h and returns at 5 km/h. What is his average speed? |
19 | A runner takes 5 minutes less to run 10 km at 12 km/h than at 10 km/h. Find the time taken at 10 km/h. |
20 | A boat can travel 36 km downstream in 2 hours and 24 km upstream in 3 hours. Find the speed of the stream. |
21 | A car travels half the distance at 80 km/h and the remaining half at 100 km/h. Find the average speed. |
22 | A train moving at 90 km/h crosses a 150-meter-long platform in 10 seconds. Find the length of the train. |
23 | A train running at 60 km/h takes 1 minute to pass a pole. Find the length of the train. |
24 | A train crosses two persons walking in the same direction at 3 km/h and 5 km/h in 30 seconds and 36 seconds respectively. Find the speed of the train. |
25 | Two trains start at the same time from two stations 300 km apart and move toward each other. One travels at 70 km/h and the other at 80 km/h. How far apart will they be after 1 hour? |
Time Speed and Distance CAT Questions Answer Key
Students may find out the solutions of CAT distance/speed and time questions provided above.
Q.No. | Answer |
1 | 48 km/h |
2 | 1 hr 5 min |
3 | 3:2 |
4 | 400 m |
5 | 1 hour 15 minutes |
6 | 60 km/h |
7 | 50 minutes |
8 | 270 m |
9 | 12 km/h |
10 | 72 km/h |
11 | 16 seconds |
12 | 40 km/h |
13 | 12 km/h |
14 | 120 m |
15 | 48 km/h |
16 | 200 km |
17 | 200 m |
18 | 4.44 km/h |
19 | 1 hour |
20 | 2 km/h |
21 | 89.89 km/h |
22 | 400 m |
23 | 1 km |
24 | 15 m/s or 54 km/h |
25 | 150 km |
Preparation Tips for Time Speed and Distance Questions of CAT
- Start with the Basics: Know the basic formulae: Speed = Distance ÷ time; Relative Speed; Average Speed.
- Use your conversion skills efficiently: 1 km/h is 5/18 m/s. Be fluent and quick in converting between km/h and m/s when solving problems.
- Recognize Common Scenarios: Be familiar with scenarios regarding trains, races, circular tracks, boats and streams, and moving bodies.
- Develop an Understanding of Relative Speed Principles: Be clear about how relative speed works in both situations of same direction motion and opposite direction motion, and expect to get questioned about it.
- Don't Memorize - Think Logically: CAT requires you to think logically, mainly to understand the situation before selecting an approach or verifying calculation.
- Use Ratios and Simple Calculated Division for Quick Calculation: Many scenarios in TSD are better explained through ratios, with many where time or speed is altered proportionally.
- Practice Questions Marked by Level: Complete practice that is in the basic category and gradually increase to CAT level practice with traps and multi-step logic.
- Use a Timer: Develop speed as well as accuracy by timing yourself whilst completing the questions from start to finish.
- Review from Mocks and Past Papers: Look at TSD questions from mock CAT tests so that you start to identify the trends of questions to develop awareness that assists in bringing about strategy.
- Build Lists of Errors: Journaling and logging errors, rather than just the statistics, will prevent you from repeating conceptual errors and calculation errors.
Recommended: CAT 2025 Preparation: Time and Work Questions
