Question

If you have to fly from JFK airport in New York to LAX airport in Los Angeles, you will fly 2,475 miles. If the average amount of time for a plane to fly from JFK to LAX is 5 hours and 30 minutes, what is the average speed that a plane flies on this trip? Include the appropriate units.

Answer 1

450 miles / hour or 201.17 meters/second

Explanation:

Speed = distance / time

Distance = 2475 miles

Time = 5 hours and 30 minutes

I will solve this in both miles per hour and meters per second and I am unaware of the appropriate units for your class.

Since 30 minutes = 1/2 an hour, 5 hours and 30 minutes = 5.5 hours

2475 miles / 5.5 hours = 450 miles / hour

1609.34 meters = 1 mile

3600 seconds = 1 hour

450 miles / hour * 1609.34 meters/1 mile * 1 hour/3600 seconds = 201.1675 meters/second (can round to 201.17)

Note that when multiplying, I am simply multiplying the result by 1. Since

1609.34 meters = 1 mile , 1609.34 meters/1 mile = 1 if I divide both sides by 1. Because I multiply by 1, the number is still the same. In terms of the numerator and denominator, I choose which is which by analyzing which units should cancel out. For example, I multiply by 1 hour/3600 seconds because in miles/hour, hour is on the bottom, and hour is on the top in hours/seconds.