Today, I’m excited to start what I hope will be a new series of periodic posts with my oldest son, Kyle Watson. Kyle is 9 years old and very interested in animals. He reads about them daily and regularly asks to look online for more information about animals. We thought maybe there are other children asking the same questions as him, but not finding all the answers they need. Kyle is going to attempt to assimilate the information he finds into posts answering the questions that he’s asking and maybe your child is asking too. We hope you’ll follow along! Have a question you’d like Kyle to answer? Please post it in the comments below!

Today I’m asking, “If a peregrine falcon and a cheetah had a 430 yard race who would win?” First you should know the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the world. The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Second, the peregrine falcon flies between 40-55 miles per hour straight ahead, but can dive at an even higher speed of 242 miles per hour.While the peregrine falcon’s top speed is higher, the cheetah accelerates or reaches its top speed faster. The cheetah can run 75 miles per hour for a distance of 1300 feet at a time. It reaches 45 miles per hour in two seconds.

So, if the cheetah runs straight ahead, but the peregrine falcon flies high so he can reach his maximum speed while diving, the cheetah will have a shorter distance to cover. The peregrine falcon has to fly up to at least 430 feet above the ground before beginning its dive. My guess before completing the math is that the peregrine falcon will win, because his max speed is higher. Plus he’s way cooler. What’s your guess?

 

Okay, time for the math.

 

We want to measure their speed for a distance of 430 yards, which is 1290 feet (3 feet per yard; 3 x 430 = 1290). We know the animals’ speeds based on miles per hour, so now we need to convert that to how many feet they can travel in an hour. A cheetah can travel 237, 600 feet per hour for the first 2 seconds and 396,00 feet per hour for the time remaining, up to a distance of 1300 feet.

 

So for the first 2 seconds, a cheetah can travel 66 feet per second totaling 132 feet, which leaves 1,158 feet remaining in our race. Since his speed increases to 396,000 feet per hour (or 75 mph) once he’s accelerated to his top speed, it will take him an additional 10.5 seconds to travel the remaining distance. We figured that out by dividing 396,000 by 60 feet equaling 6,600 feet per minute. Then 1,158 divided by 6,600 equaling .175, which means 17.5 % of an hour. If we multiply 60 (seconds) by .175, we learn that it would take the cheetah 10.5 seconds to travel the remaining 1158 feet. So, it would take the cheetah a total of 12.5 seconds to travel 1290 feet or 430 yards.

 

If the peregrine falcon traveled directly upward at a speed of 55 miles per hour or 290,400 feet per hour first (essentially traveling no distance forward), it would take him 5.328 seconds to reach a height of 430 feet. From that height, he can begin diving at his top speed of 242 miles per hour or 1,277,760 feet per hour. It would take the peregrine falcon 3.6 seconds to travel the remaining distance totaling 8.928 seconds to travel 1290 feet or 430 yards. PEREGRINE FALCON WINS! (Keep in mind we didn’t account for acceleration rates by height for the peregrine falcon, because we didn’t have enough information to do that.)

 

However, if the peregrine falcon traveled directly ahead instead of up, it would take him 15.99 seconds to travel 430 yards therefore causing him to lose. CHEETAH WINS!

 

Ok, all that math is making my head hurt. I got a little stuck in the middle of it, but thankfully could call in my dad to help me finish it. Now, check out these videos which demonstrate just how fast these fastest animals are.

 

A Cheetah Can Get You Without Hitting Top Speed

 

High-Velocity Falcons

 

Here are some coloring pages if you want to print them out:

 

Peregrine Falcon

 

Cheetah