Final answer:
After calculating the total race time for Ricky and comparing it to Mike's race time, it is clear that Mike is faster with a completion time of 10.5 hours compared to Ricky's 19 hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves determining who is faster between Ricky, who races 500 miles with each lap being 100 miles, and Mike, his brother, who finishes in 10 1/2 hours. To find out who is faster, we need to calculate the time it takes for Ricky to complete his race and compare it with Mike's completion time.
Ricky's lap times are as follows:
- Lap 5: 3 hours
- Lap 4: 4 hours
- Lap 3: 5 hours
- Lap 2: Same as Lap 4
- Lap 1: Same as Lap 5
To calculate Ricky's total time, we add up the hours for all 5 laps:
Total time for Ricky = 3 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 3 = 19 hours.
Now that we know Ricky's total time, we compare it to Mike's time:
Mike's total time = 10 1/2 hours = 10.5 hours.
Mike's total time (10.5 hours) is less than Ricky's total time (19 hours), so Mike is faster than Ricky.