Question

vThe height of a high rise building in New York city is 950 feet. A runner races to the top in 7 minutes 55 seconds. What is the runner's average speed in meters per second?
0.58 m/s
0.61 m/s
0.63 m/s
1.65 m/s

Answer 1

To calculate the runner's average speed in meters per second, we first need to convert the height of the building from feet to meters, and the time from minutes and seconds to seconds.

1. **Convert feet to meters:**
\[
1 \text{ foot} = 0.3048 \text{ meters}
\]
\[
\text{Height in meters} = 950 \text{ feet} \times 0.3048 \text{ m/foot} \approx 289.56 \text{ meters}
\]

2. **Convert time to seconds:**
The total time of 7 minutes and 55 seconds is converted to seconds as follows:
\[
7 \text{ minutes} = 7 \times 60 = 420 \text{ seconds}
\]
\[
\text{Total time in seconds} = 420 \text{ seconds} + 55 \text{ seconds} = 475 \text{ seconds}
\]

3. **Calculate average speed:**
Average speed is calculated using the formula:
\[
\text{Average speed} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Time}} = \frac{289.56 \text{ meters}}{475 \text{ seconds}}
\]
\[
\text{Average speed} \approx 0.609 m/s
\]

Considering the provided options, the closest value is:
\[
\text{Average speed} \approx 0.61 m/s
\]

Thus, the correct answer is **0.61 m/s**.