Question

Blake has entered a mountain bike competition at Starvation Flats Bike Park. Placement in the competition is determined by a person's average speed over four laps around the course. The course itself is of 2/5 a mile long. If Blake completed the four laps in 12 minutes, then his average speed around the track is miles per hour.

Answer 1

To find Blake's average speed in miles per hour, we can follow these steps:

1. Calculate the total distance Blake covered: Since the course is \( \frac{2}{5} \) miles long and Blake completed 4 laps: \[ \text{Total Distance} = 4 \times \frac{2}{5} \text{ miles} = \frac{8}{5} \text{ miles} = 1.6 \text{ miles} \]

2. Convert the total time from minutes to hours: Blake completed the laps in 12 minutes. To convert this into hours: \[ \text{Total Time} = \frac{12 \text{ minutes}}{60 \text{ minutes per hour}} = 0.2 \text{ hours} \]

3. Calculate the average speed: Average speed is given by the formula: \[ \text{Average Speed} = \frac{\text{Total Distance}}{\text{Total Time}} \] Substituting the values we calculated: \[ \text{Average Speed} = \frac{1.6 \text{ miles}}{0.2 \text{ hours}} = 8 \text{ miles per hour} \]

Thus, Blake's average speed around the track is \( \boxed{8} \) miles per hour.