Julieta has been in the car with her family on a road trip for the past three hours. For the first hour, they went about 55 mph. Then, the speed limit changed and they started going about 70 mph. They are still going 70 mph.

Question

Two and a half hours into the road trip, how far had Julieta’s family traveled?
Give your answer to a reasonable level of accuracy. Explain why your response
cannot be perfectly accurate. Make your answer short and simple.

Answer 1

To determine how far Julieta's family has traveled after two and a half hours, we can break it down as follows:

1. First hour: They traveled at 55 mph for 1 hour. \[ \text{Distance for first hour} = 55 \text{ mph} \times 1 \text{ hour} = 55 \text{ miles} \]

2. Next hour and a half (1.5 hours): They traveled at 70 mph for 1.5 hours. \[ \text{Distance for next 1.5 hours} = 70 \text{ mph} \times 1.5 \text{ hours} = 105 \text{ miles} \]

3. Total distance traveled: \[ \text{Total distance} = 55 \text{ miles} + 105 \text{ miles} = 160 \text{ miles} \]

Thus, after two and a half hours, Julieta's family has traveled approximately 160 miles.

The response cannot be perfectly accurate because road conditions, traffic, and speed variations can affect the actual distance traveled, and this calculation assumes constant speeds without any delays or deviations.