Nisan took 5 minutes and 30 seconds to complete a puzzle.

Question

Liza took 3 minutes and 45 seconds to complete the same puzzle.
Liza beat the previous record time for completing the puzzle by 10 seconds.
What was the previous record time? Give your answer in seconds.

Answer 1

To find the previous record time in seconds, we'll perform a series of calculations based on the given information.

First, we need to convert the times Nisan and Liza took to complete the puzzle into seconds.

**Nisan's time:**
- Minutes: 5 minutes
- Seconds: 30 seconds

Convert the minutes to seconds:
\[
5 \text{ minutes} \times 60 \text{ seconds/minute} = 300 \text{ seconds}
\]
Add the additional seconds:
\[
300 \text{ seconds} + 30 \text{ seconds} = 330 \text{ seconds}
\]
So, Nisan took 330 seconds to complete the puzzle.

**Liza's time:**
- Minutes: 3 minutes
- Seconds: 45 seconds

Convert the minutes to seconds:
\[
3 \text{ minutes} \times 60 \text{ seconds/minute} = 180 \text{ seconds}
\]
Add the additional seconds:
\[
180 \text{ seconds} + 45 \text{ seconds} = 225 \text{ seconds}
\]
So, Liza took 225 seconds to complete the puzzle.

According to the problem, Liza beat the previous record by 10 seconds. That means the previous record was 10 seconds more than Liza's time of 225 seconds.

Calculate the previous record time:
\[
225 \text{ seconds} + 10 \text{ seconds} = 235 \text{ seconds}
\]

The previous record time for completing the puzzle was 235 seconds.