Final answer:
The speed of a vehicle that travels 50 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes is calculated to be 40 miles per hour, using the formula speed = distance / time and converting minutes to hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the speed of a vehicle or object, we use the formula: speed = distance / time. In this situation, the distance traveled is 50 miles and the time taken is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Since we need the time in hours to match the distance in miles, we convert 15 minutes to hours by dividing by 60. So, 15 minutes is 0.25 hours. The total time in hours is then 1 + 0.25, which is 1.25 hours.
Now, we can calculate the speed as follows:
Speed = distance / time
= 50 miles / 1.25 hours
= 40 miles per hour.
Therefore, the speed of the vehicle is 40 miles per hour.