Question
Sammy wants to calculate the time it takes for a ladybug traveling at a speed of 3 inches (in.) per second (sec.) to crawl a distance of 10 feet (ft.).
Starting with the formula d=rt
, Sammy rearranges the formula to highlight time, t, as the quantity of interest.
t=d/r
Sammy substitutes the values for rate and time into the formula t=d/r
and simplifies to calculate the time.
t= 10 ft/.3 in./sec.t≈3.3 sec.
Sammy determines it takes the ladybug about 3.3
sec. to travel 10 ft.
What mistake did Sammy make?
Starting with the formula d=rt
, Sammy rearranges the formula to highlight time, t, as the quantity of interest.
t=d/r
Sammy substitutes the values for rate and time into the formula t=d/r
and simplifies to calculate the time.
t= 10 ft/.3 in./sec.t≈3.3 sec.
Sammy determines it takes the ladybug about 3.3
sec. to travel 10 ft.
What mistake did Sammy make?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Sammy made a mistake in the units while calculating the time it takes for the ladybug to crawl a distance of 10 feet.
The speed of the ladybug is given as 3 inches per second (in/sec), while the distance to be crawled is 10 feet (ft). To perform the calculation correctly, both the distance and the rate must be in the same units.
1. **Convert the distance from feet to inches**:
Since 1 foot equals 12 inches, 10 feet can be converted to inches:
\[
10 \, \text{ft} = 10 \times 12 \, \text{in} = 120 \, \text{in}
\]
2. **Now use the correct formula**:
Substitute the values into the formula \( t = \frac{d}{r} \):
\[
t = \frac{120 \, \text{in}}{3 \, \text{in/sec}} = 40 \, \text{sec}
\]
Therefore, the correct time for the ladybug to travel 10 feet is 40 seconds, not approximately 3.3 seconds. Sammy's calculation did not account for the conversion between feet and inches.
The speed of the ladybug is given as 3 inches per second (in/sec), while the distance to be crawled is 10 feet (ft). To perform the calculation correctly, both the distance and the rate must be in the same units.
1. **Convert the distance from feet to inches**:
Since 1 foot equals 12 inches, 10 feet can be converted to inches:
\[
10 \, \text{ft} = 10 \times 12 \, \text{in} = 120 \, \text{in}
\]
2. **Now use the correct formula**:
Substitute the values into the formula \( t = \frac{d}{r} \):
\[
t = \frac{120 \, \text{in}}{3 \, \text{in/sec}} = 40 \, \text{sec}
\]
Therefore, the correct time for the ladybug to travel 10 feet is 40 seconds, not approximately 3.3 seconds. Sammy's calculation did not account for the conversion between feet and inches.