Section 2

In Focus, Rob averaged 14.30 km/day on his skateboard. Skateboarding isn’t the most efficient method to move quickly over long distances, but it is a healthy way to travel. There are faster ways than skateboarding to get from one place to another on wheels. For example, passenger trains can move a large number of people quickly and efficiently.

Trains have changed tremendously from the first steam-powered trains in the early 1800s. The fastest trains now are powered by electric motors. The CRH380 in China, with a maximum speed of about 420 km/h , is currently the fastest bullet train in the world. This train could take you from Edmonton to Calgary (about 300 km) in less than 1 h!

Click on the play button to do the Blink activity.

In Blink, you saw that represents the speed of the bullet train, but so do these fractions:

, , and

They are all equivalent speeds, even though the units and numbers in the numerators and denominators vary.