A car travels 40 km north in 2 hours, then 60 km east in 3 hours. What is the car's average speed for the entire trip?

Core Concept

Average speed is total distance divided by total time. The car travels 40 km + 60 km = 100 km in 2 hours + 3 hours = 5 hours. Therefore, average speed = 100 km / 5 h = 20.0 km/h. Option A incorrectly uses displacement instead of distance. Option C incorrectly divides the total distance by only the second time interval. Option D incorrectly adds the two speeds (40/2 + 60/3) and divides by 2.