Speed of an object is defined as the distance travelled by the object per unit time.
Let's assume that, AB=d. So, BC=d,AD=3d. Also, assume that the time required by the object to travel AB,BC,CD are t1,t2,t3 respectively.
Now,
ADAB+BC+CDAB+AB+CDCD====3AB3AB3ABAB
Hence,
t1t2t3====v1ABv1dv2dv3d
The formula to calculate the average speed (va) of the object is given by
va=t1+t2+t3AD........................(1)
Substitute the expressions for the parameters into equation (1) and simplify to obtain the required average speed of the object.
va==v1d+v2d+v3d3dv1v2+v2v3+v3v13v1v2v3