Final answer:
To swim 50 laps at a rate of 12 minutes per 4 laps, it would take 2.5 hours. The number of laps per minute is approximately 1/3 of a lap per minute.
Step-by-step explanation:
If it takes you 12 minutes to swim 4 laps, we need to calculate how long it will take to swim 50 laps. First, let's find out how much time it takes to swim one lap. Since 4 laps take 12 minutes, one lap takes 12 minutes ÷ 4 laps = 3 minutes per lap. This is the time per lap.
Now, to know how many hours it will take to swim 50 laps, we multiply the time per lap by the number of laps: 3 minutes per lap × 50 laps = 150 minutes. There are 60 minutes in an hour, so to convert 150 minutes into hours, we divide by 60: 150 minutes ÷ 60 = 2.5 hours. You will take 2.5 hours to swim 50 laps.
The number of laps per minute is calculated by inverting the time per lap. Since one lap takes 3 minutes, we have 1 lap ÷ 3 minutes = 0.333 (repeating) or approximately 1/3 of a lap per minute. Therefore, you swim approximately 1/3 of a lap per minute.