Question

John runs 500 feet in 1 minute. Identify the correct conversion factor setup required to compute John's speed in inches per second.

A) 12 inches/1 foot * 60 seconds/1 minute
B) 1 foot/12 inches * 60 seconds/1 minute
C) 1 foot/12 inches * 1 minute/60 seconds
D) 12 inches/1 foot * 1 minute/60 seconds

Answer 1

To compute John's speed in inches per second, multiply 500 feet per minute by the conversion factor 12 inches/1 foot * 1 minute/60 seconds to get an answer of 16.67 inches/second.

Step-by-step explanation:

To compute John's speed in inches per second, we need to convert 500 feet per minute to inches per second. The correct conversion factor setup is D) 12 inches/1 foot * 1 minute/60 seconds. This setup ensures that the conversion factors cancel out the units we don't need and give us the desired units.

Using the conversion factor setup D:

500 feet * (12 inches/1 foot) * (1 minute/60 seconds) = 500 * 12/1 * 1/60 = 1000 inches/60 seconds = 16.67 inches/second.