Final answer:
To convert 1.5 feet per second to miles per hour, one must use the conversion factors of 5280 feet per mile and 3600 seconds per hour. After applying the conversion, the result is approximately 1.02 MPH.
Step-by-step explanation:
To convert the speed from feet per second to miles per hour (MPH), we need to use unit conversion factors. There are 5280 feet in a mile and 3600 seconds in an hour. Therefore, to convert 1.5 feet per second to miles per hour, we multiply by the conversion factor (1 mile / 5280 feet) to convert feet to miles, and then by another conversion factor (3600 seconds / 1 hour) to convert seconds to hours.
The calculation would be as follows: 1.5 feet/second * (1 mile / 5280 feet) * (3600 seconds / 1 hour) = 1.5 * 3600 / 5280 miles per hour. This simplifies to 1.02272727273 MPH, which when rounded to the nearest hundredth, is approximately 1.02 MPH. Thus, when cars are coupled at a speed of about 1.5 feet per second, this speed is most nearly equal to 1.02 MPH.