Question

A tortoise travels 11 feet in one hour. In each subsequent hour, the tortoise travels one-third the distance it traveled in the previous hour. How far does this tortoise travel in 6 hours?

Answer 1

16.5.......................

Answer 2

The distance that a tortoise will cover in 6 hours is:

16.47735 feet.

Explanation:

It is given that :

A tortoise travels 11 feet in one hour.

In each subsequent hour, the tortoise travels one-third the distance it traveled in the previous hour.

• This means that in 2 hours it travels a total of:

`11+(1)/(3)* 11\ feet`

which is equal to:

`11* (4)/(3)\ feet=(44)/(3)\ feet`

• in the 3 hours it will travel a total of:

`=11+(1)/(3)* 11+(1)/(3^2)* 11\ feet`

• In 4 hours it will travel a total of:

`=11+(1)/(3)* 11+(1)/(3^2)* 11+(1)/(3^3)* 11\ feet`

• In 5 hours it will travel a total of:

`=11+(1)/(3)* 11+(1)/(3^2)* 11+(1)/(3^3)* 11+(1)/(3^4)* 11\ feet`

• In 6 hours it will travel a total of:

`=11+(1)/(3)* 11+(1)/(3^2)* 11+(1)/(3^3)* 11+(1)/(3^4)* 11+(1)/(3^5)* 11\ feet=16.47735\ feet`

Hence, the answer is:

16.47735 feet