Fact files

Speed and extremes

Speeds, temperature records and other extremes.

Speed questions include how fast things move and the record temperatures of places around the world, measured in miles per hour or degrees Fahrenheit. Records are tied to a place and a year in the note.

Below are 24 questions from this category of the Catamount question bank, with the answer and the note that explains it. Figures are rounded, commonly cited values. Try guessing before you read the answer.

What is the lowest wind speed in mph for an F5 on the original Fujita scale?

261 mph · Original 1971 scale

At what temperature in degrees F does sodium melt?

208°F · 97.8 C

What is the record high temperature in North Carolina in degrees F?

110°F · Fayetteville, 1983

How fast is the Voyager 1 probe moving, relative to the Sun?

38,000 mph · About 17 km per second.

What was Hurricane Rita's peak sustained wind speed in mph in 2005?

180 mph · Gulf of Mexico

What was Shabnim Ismail's record fastest women's cricket delivery in mph?

82.2 mph · 2016

What is the top speed in mph of a racing quarter horse over a quarter mile?

55 mph · Fastest horse breed, top recorded

How fast does a typical passenger jet cruise?

570 mph · About Mach 0.85.

What is the maximum speed limit in mph on Wyoming interstates?

80 mph · Rural interstate sections.

What Mach number did Thrust SSC reach on its record run?

1.02 · First supersonic land record

What is the all-time record low in Fairbanks, in degrees F below zero?

66°F · January 1934.

What was Hurricane Charley's sustained wind speed in mph at Florida landfall in 2004?

150 mph · Category 4.

What is the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia in degrees F?

123.3°F · Oodnadatta, 1960

What Mach number marks the start of hypersonic flight?

5 · Common definition

What is Saturn's average orbital speed in mph?

21,700 mph · About 9.7 km per second.

What is the top speed in mph of a moose in a sprint?

35 mph · Top running speed

What is the top speed in mph of an average adult human walking?

3 mph · Average walking pace

What was the top speed in mph of the 1885 Benz Patent-Motorwagen?

10 mph · Often called the first car.

At what temperature in degrees F does aluminum melt?

1,221°F · 660 C

What is the lowest wind speed in mph for an EF1 tornado?

86 mph · Enhanced Fujita scale

What is the record high temperature in Idaho in degrees F?

118°F · Orofino, 1934

What was Arie Luyendyk's four-lap Indy 500 qualifying record in mph?

237 mph · Set in 1996

What is the F-14 Tomcat's top Mach number?

2.34 · Maximum speed.

What is the International Space Station's orbital speed in mph?

17,500 mph · About 5 miles per second