Final answer:
Isabella's pet tortoise was moving at a speed of approximately 0.00055 meters per second. This speed was calculated by dividing the distance in meters by the time in seconds.
Step-by-step explanation:
Isabella's pet tortoise was moving at a certain speed that we can calculate by using the distance covered and the time taken. First, we must convert the time into hours to be consistent with a standard speed measurement. Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, 15 minutes is equal to 15/60 hours, which simplifies to 1/4 or 0.25 hours.
Next, to find the speed, we use the formula speed = distance/time. So, the tortoise's speed was 50 centimeters / 0.25 hours. When we do the division, we get 200 centimeters per hour. However, it is more conventional to express speeds in meters per second. Since 100 centimeters are in a meter and 3600 seconds are in an hour, we first convert 200 centimeters per hour to 2 meters per hour by dividing by 100, and then convert to meters per second by dividing by 3600, resulting in approximately 0.00055 meters per second.