Final Answer:
The total distance from the hive to the flower bed and back is 2 miles.
Explanation:
To calculate the total distance traveled by the bee, we first need to find the distance from the hive to the flower bed. The bee flies at a speed of 6 ft./s for 15 minutes, which is equivalent to 6 x 60 x 15 = 5400 feet. Converting this to miles (1 mile = 5280 feet), we get 5400 / 5280 = 1.0227 miles. Next, the bee flies back to the hive at a speed of 4 ft./s for 20 minutes, which is equivalent to 4 x 60 x 20 = 4800 feet.
Converting this to miles, we get 4800 / 5280 = 0.9091 miles. Therefore, the total distance traveled by the bee is 1.0227 + 0.9091 = 1.9318 miles, which can be rounded to approximately 2 miles.
In summary, the bee travels approximately 1.0227 miles from the hive to the flower bed and approximately 0.9091 miles back to the hive, resulting in a total distance of approximately 2 miles covered during its journey.