Final answer:
Stefan takes 4 seconds to travel the distance between each lantern, so to get from the first to the seventeenth lantern, which is 16 intervals, it will take him 64 seconds in total.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves solving a problem related to speed and distance covered over a period of time. If Stefan rides from the first lantern to the fourth in 12 seconds, he covers three intervals (since it's from the first to the fourth lantern) in that time.
This means Stefan takes 4 seconds per interval, as 12 seconds / 3 intervals = 4 seconds per interval. To determine how long it will take him to travel from the first to the seventeenth lantern, we must calculate the number of intervals he'll cover, which is 16 (since it's from the first to the seventeenth, resulting in 16 intervals).
Multiplying the number of intervals by the time per interval (16 intervals * 4 seconds per interval), we find that it will take Stefan 64 seconds to travel from the first to the seventeenth lantern.
To find out how long it will take for Stefan to travel from the first flashlight to the seventeenth, we need to determine the time it takes for him to travel one lantern and then multiply it by the number of lanterns he needs to pass.
From the given information, Stefan takes 12 seconds to travel from the first flashlight to the fourth. This means he covers 3 lanterns in 12 seconds, and it takes him 4 seconds per lantern. To reach the 17th lantern, it would take him 4 * 17 = 68 seconds.