Final answer:
The average speed of the cargo plane on its trip to Las Vegas is determined by dividing the distance covered, which is 2160 miles, by the time taken for that leg of the trip, which is 8 hours, resulting in an average speed of 270 mph.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about finding the average speed of a cargo plane on its trip to Las Vegas when we know the time taken for the trip back and its average speed on the return trip. To find the average speed of the trip there, we can use the fact that distance is the same in both directions. Since the plane took ten hours to return at an average speed of 216 mph, the distance one way can be calculated as distance = time × speed = 10 hours × 216 mph = 2160 miles.
Knowing the distance, we can now find the average speed of the trip there by using the formula average speed = distance / time. Since the time taken for the trip there was eight hours, the average speed for the trip there would be 2160 miles / 8 hours = 270 mph.