Dashboard dials

The idea

A speedometer is an instrument in a vehicle that measures and displays its speed in km/h, and an odometer measures the distance travelled by the vehicle in kilometres.

Look at a scooter

A scooter, a car and a bus have two instruments on the dashboard. One shows how fast it goes. The other shows how far it has gone.

Which one shows how far the vehicle has gone?

• The odometer
• The speedometer
• The horn

Drive

Set a speed and press Drive. Watch the speedometer and the odometer.

Two instruments

The needle showed the speed in km/h. The number wheels showed the distance in km, and they went up while the vehicle moved.

A speedometer is an instrument in a vehicle that measures and displays its speed in km/h, and an odometer measures the distance travelled by the vehicle in kilometres.

• Instrument | Shows | Unit
• Speedometer | Speed | km/h
• Odometer | Distance travelled | km

Notes

A speedometer is an instrument in a vehicle that measures and displays its speed in km/h, and an odometer measures the distance travelled by the vehicle in kilometres.

Check yourself

Which instrument shows the speed of a vehicle?

Which instrument shows the distance travelled by a vehicle?

The speedometer displays speed in …

The odometer measures distance in …

• The odometer. The odometer shows the distance travelled.
• The speedometer — correct. Yes!
• The fuel gauge. A fuel gauge shows how much fuel is left, not the speed.
• The speedometer. The speedometer shows speed.
• The clock. A clock shows time, not distance.
• The odometer — correct. Yes!
• km/h — correct. Yes!
• km. km is the unit of distance, shown by the odometer.
• h. h is a unit of time.
• kilometres per hour. That is a unit of speed, shown by the speedometer.
• kilometres — correct. Yes!
• seconds. Seconds measure time, not distance.