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Mission KC6 Average Speed Calculations

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Hold down the T key for 3 seconds to activate the audio accessibility mode, at which point you can click the K key to pause and resume audio. Useful for the Check Your Understanding and See Answers.

 The Question

If a driver averages a speed of 49.5 miles/hour, then how far (in miles) will she travel during a 12.2-hour day trip? Enter a numerical answer (no units) accurate to the second decimal place.

(Note: Numbers are randomly generated and may differ from those shown here.)

 Formula Fix

The average speed (vave) of an object can be determined as the ratio of the overall distance traveled (d) per time of travel (t):
 
ave. speed = distance / time
vave= d / t

 Math Magic

This question asks you to determine how far... - that is, the distance (d) traveled by a migrating bird. The equation in the Formula Frenzy section can be used to determine the distance. As written, it is set up to solve for average speed. But by multiplying each side of the equation by t, the variable d will be by itself on the right side of the equation. Substitution of known values of vave and t can be made in order to solve for d.

 A Very Fine Detail

The Minds On Physics program calculates answers accurate to many decimal places. Your answer does not need to be that precise. The program will allow you to have a 1% deviation from the right answer without being wrong. This means you should enter your answer to at least the second decimal place.

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