Question


A professional cyclist is training for the Tour de France. Yesterday, he biked 140 kilometers in 3 hours and 25 minutes. Today, he biked 150 kilometers in 3 hours and 50 minutes. What was the cyclist's average speed over his two rides?
Write your answer as a whole number, a decimal, or a simplified fraction or mixed number. Do not round.
kilometers per hour

Answers

Answered by GPT-4o mini
To find the cyclist's average speed over the two rides, we first need to calculate the total distance and the total time taken for both rides.

**Step 1: Calculate the total distance.**

The distance for the first ride is 140 kilometers, and the distance for the second ride is 150 kilometers.

\[
\text{Total Distance} = 140 \text{ km} + 150 \text{ km} = 290 \text{ km}
\]

**Step 2: Calculate the total time.**

For the first ride, the time taken is 3 hours and 25 minutes. We can convert this into hours.

\[
3 \text{ hours} + \frac{25 \text{ minutes}}{60} = 3 + \frac{25}{60} = 3 + \frac{5}{12} = \frac{36}{12} + \frac{5}{12} = \frac{41}{12} \text{ hours}
\]

For the second ride, the time taken is 3 hours and 50 minutes. We can convert this into hours as well.

\[
3 \text{ hours} + \frac{50 \text{ minutes}}{60} = 3 + \frac{50}{60} = 3 + \frac{5}{6} = \frac{18}{6} + \frac{5}{6} = \frac{23}{6} \text{ hours}
\]

**Step 3: Add the total time.**

Now we need to add both times together:

\[
\text{Total Time} = \frac{41}{12} \text{ hours} + \frac{23}{6} \text{ hours}
\]

To add these fractions, we first need a common denominator. The least common multiple of 12 and 6 is 12.

Convert \(\frac{23}{6}\) to have a denominator of 12:

\[
\frac{23}{6} = \frac{23 \times 2}{6 \times 2} = \frac{46}{12}
\]

Now, we can add:

\[
\text{Total Time} = \frac{41}{12} + \frac{46}{12} = \frac{41 + 46}{12} = \frac{87}{12} \text{ hours}
\]

**Step 4: Calculate the average speed.**

To find the average speed, we divide the total distance by the total time:

\[
\text{Average Speed} = \frac{\text{Total Distance}}{\text{Total Time}} = \frac{290 \text{ km}}{\frac{87}{12} \text{ hours}}
\]

This division can be simplified by multiplying by the reciprocal:

\[
\text{Average Speed} = 290 \text{ km} \times \frac{12}{87}
\]

Calculating this gives:

\[
\text{Average Speed} = \frac{290 \times 12}{87} = \frac{3480}{87}
\]

To simplify \(\frac{3480}{87}\):

Calculating the division yields:

\[
3480 \div 87 = 40
\]

Thus, the average speed of the cyclist over the two rides is:

\[
\boxed{40} \text{ kilometers per hour}
\]

Related Questions