Question

A blue marlin can swim at the speeds of about 50 miles per hour, what is that speed in feet per second, to the nearest whole number?

Answer 1

To convert miles per hour (mph) to feet per second (fps), you can use the conversion factors that 1 mile is equal to 5280 feet and 1 hour is equal to 3600 seconds.

First, convert 50 miles per hour to feet per second using the following calculation:

\[
\text{Speed in feet per second} = \text{Speed in miles per hour} \times \frac{5280 \text{ feet}}{1 \text{ mile}} \times \frac{1 \text{ hour}}{3600 \text{ seconds}}
\]

Now, substituting 50 mph into the formula gives:

\[
\text{Speed in feet per second} = 50 \times \frac{5280}{3600}
\]

Calculating the fraction:

\[
\frac{5280}{3600} \approx 1.46667
\]

Now multiply:

\[
50 \times 1.46667 \approx 73.3335
\]

Rounding to the nearest whole number results in:

\[
\text{Speed in feet per second} \approx 73
\]

Therefore, 50 miles per hour is approximately **73 feet per second**.