Question

Every 5 days a scientist spends 2 hours observing coyotes. At this rate, how many hours will the scientist spend observing coyotes in 18 days?

A) 7.2 hours
B) 10 hours
C) 12 hours
D) 14.4 hours

Answer 1

To determine the total hours spent observing coyotes over 18 days, we find the number of complete observation cycles within those days, multiply it by the hours spent per cycle, and then account for the remaining partial cycle. The scientist will spend 7.2 hours in total, making option A the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks us to calculate how many hours a scientist will spend observing coyotes in 18 days, given that the scientist spends 2 hours every 5 days doing this task. To find the answer, you would use the following steps:

1. First, divide the total number of days (18) by the cycle period (5 days) to find out how many complete cycles there are: 18 ÷ 5 = 3.6 cycles.
2. Since only whole cycles count for complete observations, we take the integer part of 3.6, which is 3 complete cycles.
3. Then, multiply the number of complete cycles by the number of hours spent observing per cycle: 3 cycles × 2 hours/cycle = 6 hours.
4. Since there is a partial cycle (0.6 of a cycle), we calculate the hours for this part by multiplying the fraction of the cycle (0.6) by the number of hours per cycle: 0.6 × 2 hours = 1.2 hours.
5. Finally, we add the hours from the complete cycles to the hours from the partial cycle to get the total observation time: 6 hours + 1.2 hours = 7.2 hours, which corresponds to option A.

Therefore, the scientist will spend a total of 7.2 hours observing coyotes over the 18-day period.