A white-tailed deer can sprint at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. American bison can run at speeds up to 3,520 feet per minute. Which animal is faster and by how many miles per hour? There are 5,280 feet in one mile.

A deer is 10 miles per hour faster than a bison.
A bison is 10 miles per hour faster than a deer.
A deer is 0.66 miles per hour faster than a bison.
A bison is 0.66 miles per hour faster than a deer.

1 answer

To compare the speeds of the white-tailed deer and the American bison, we need to convert the bison's speed from feet per minute to miles per hour.

  1. Convert bison's speed from feet per minute to miles per hour:

    • The bison can run at 3,520 feet per minute.
    • There are 5,280 feet in a mile and 60 minutes in an hour.

    So, we first convert the speed to miles per minute: \[ \text{Speed in miles per minute} = \frac{3,520 \text{ feet}}{5,280 \text{ feet/mile}} = 0.66667 \text{ miles per minute} \]

    Now we convert that to miles per hour by multiplying by 60 (since there are 60 minutes in an hour): \[ \text{Speed in miles per hour} = 0.66667 \text{ miles per minute} \times 60 \text{ minutes/hour} = 40 \text{ miles per hour} \]

  2. Compare speeds:

    • The white-tailed deer can sprint at 30 miles per hour.
    • The American bison can run at 40 miles per hour.
  3. Determine which animal is faster: The bison is faster than the deer.

  4. Calculate the difference in speed: \[ \text{Difference} = 40 \text{ miles per hour (bison)} - 30 \text{ miles per hour (deer)} = 10 \text{ miles per hour} \]

Thus, the American bison is faster than the white-tailed deer by 10 miles per hour.

The correct statement from the given options is: A bison is 10 miles per hour faster than a deer.