Question

Coach Burns charted the change in his runners’ 5K times from the first race of the year to the second race of the year. Which student improved the most by decreasing the time needed to run the race?

Overall Change in 5K Times from the First to the Second Race
Runner
Time over (+) or under (–) previous run
Albert
–15.7 seconds
Cody
+1.4 seconds
Hannah
+4.5 seconds
Yasim
–37.4 seconds

Albert
Cody
Hannah
Yasim

Answer 1

To find out which student improved the most by decreasing their time, we look at the overall change in their 5K times. The runners who decreased their time will have a negative value, and the one with the largest negative value is considered to have improved the most.

Here are the changes in times:

- Albert: –15.7 seconds (improved)
- Cody: +1.4 seconds (not improved)
- Hannah: +4.5 seconds (not improved)
- Yasim: –37.4 seconds (improved)

Yasim improved the most by decreasing their time by 37.4 seconds.

**Answer: Yasim** is the student who improved the most.