Final answer:
The snail's average speed is calculated by dividing the total distance covered, which is 3 feet, by the total time taken, which is 40 minutes or 0.6667 hours. The snail's average speed is found to be 4.5 feet per hour.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking to calculate the average speed at which a snail crawls. To find the average speed, we use the formula:
Average Speed = Total Distance ÷ Total Time
In this case, the snail covers a total distance of 3 feet in 40 minutes. To express the time in hours, which is the standard unit of time for calculating speed in feet per hour (ft/h), we divide the minutes by 60:
40 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.6667 hours
Now we can calculate the average speed:
3 ft ÷ 0.6667 h = 4.5 ft/h (rounded to two decimal places).
Therefore, the snail's average speed is 4.5 feet per hour.