Final answer:
The slowest mammal with the described ground speed is the sloth, which can move a bit faster in trees compared to its ground movement. Other options like the cheetah, gazelle, and kangaroo are notable for their speed, not slowness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mammal known for being the slowest and having a ground speed of approximately 6-8 feet per minute is the sloth. This creature can be a bit faster when moving through the trees. The Cheetah, Gazelle, and Kangaroo are all much faster animals. The cheetah is recognized as the fastest land animal, capable of reaching speeds up to 112 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour), as it can accelerate from rest to 30.0 m/s in just 7.00 seconds. The gazelle also has a high speed with a constant velocity of 10 m/s. These examples highlight significant differences in mobility and speed among mammals, but when it comes to slow ground movement, the sloth stands out due to its slow metabolism and unique ecological niche.
The final answer to the student's question is sloth, which is option b) in the multiple-choice question provided. Sloths have notoriously slow movement on the ground but are slightly faster when navigating through the trees, which is an adaptation to their arboreal lifestyle.