Enter the total time it took to travel the length of the bowling alley and the total length of the bowling alley into the calculator to determine the bowling ball speed.

## Bowling Ball Speed Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the speed of a bowling ball.

BBS = D/T
• Where BBS is the bowling ball speed (ft/s)
• D is the total distance of the bowling alley
• The standard length of the bowling alley is 60 feet
• T is the total time it took the bowling ball to travel the length of the alley

To calculate a bowling ball speed, divide the distance of travel by the total time it took to travel that distance.

## What is a Bowling Ball Speed ?

Definition:

Bowling ball speed is a measure of the average distance per unit time that a bowling ball is moving at through the bowling alley.

It’s important to note that this is an average speed. The bowling ball will be traveling faster on release then when it strikes the pins.

## How to Calculate Bowling Ball Speed ?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate the speed of a bowling ball.

First, determine the length of the bowling alley. The standard bowling lane has a length of 60 feet and that’s what we will use for this example.

Next, throw the bowling ball down the lane and measure how much time is takes to reach the pins from release. In this example, the total time is measured to be 3.5 seconds.

Finally, calculate the bowling ball speed using the formula above:

BBS = D/T

BBS = 60/3.5

BBS = 17.142857 fts = 11.688 MPH