Answer: The hot air balloon ascended at a rate of 1791.7 centimeters per second.
How?: To solve this problem, I converted the given rate from meters per minute to centimeters per second. Since there are 100 centimeters in a meter and 60 seconds in a minute, I multiplied the given rate of 107.5 meters per minute by 100 to convert it to centimeters per minute. Then, I divided the result by 60 to convert it to centimeters per second.