Final answer:
To find the athlete's average speed, convert the total time to seconds (230 seconds), then divide the distance (1500 meters) by the time. The calculated average speed is 6.521739130434782 m/s, which rounds to 6.5 m/s to one decimal place.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the average speed of the athlete, we need to divide the total distance run by the total time taken. First, let's convert the time of 3 minutes and 50 seconds into seconds. There are 60 seconds in a minute, so 3 minutes is 180 seconds, and when we add the 50 seconds, we get a total time of 230 seconds.
Now, let's calculate the average speed using the formula:
Speed = Distance / Time
Therefore:
Speed = 1500 metres / 230 seconds
Speed = 6.521739130434782 meters per second
When rounded to one decimal place, the athlete's average speed is 6.5 meters per second.