Mike will need 78 minutes to finish reading 51 pages, calculated using a direct proportion based on his initial reading rate.
The question asks how long it will take for Mike to read 51 pages if he reads 17 pages in 26 minutes. To solve this, we can set up a proportion where the number of pages is directly proportional to the time spent reading. The proportion is 17 pages/26 minutes = 51 pages/x minutes. Multiplying both sides by x and then by 26 minutes gives us: 17x = 51 * 26, which simplifies to x = (51 * 26) / 17. This gives us x = 78 minutes. So, it will take Mike 78 minutes to read 51 pages.
By setting up a proportion between pages and time, the explanation in 150 words demonstrates that Mike will need 78 minutes to finish 51 pages. This conclusion is based on the ratio found between pages read and time taken, a simple proportion calculation.