Convert the speed of a car traveling at 80 kilometers per hour to miles per hour and determine how many miles the car will travel in 5 hours.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
To convert the speed of a car traveling at 80 kilometers per hour (km/h) to miles per hour (mph), we need to use the conversion factor between kilometers and miles. The standard conversion is:
[
1 \text{ kilometer} = 0.621371 \text{ miles}
]
Step 1: Convert kilometers per hour to miles per hour
The car is traveling at 80 kilometers per hour. To convert this speed into miles per hour, we multiply by the conversion factor:
[
80 \text{ km/h} \times 0.621371 = 49.70968 \text{ mph}
]
Thus, the car is traveling at approximately 49.71 miles per hour.
Step 2: Calculate how many miles the car will travel in 5 hours
Next, to find out how far the car will travel in 5 hours, we multiply the speed in miles per hour by the time in hours:
[
49.71 \text{ mph} \times 5 \text{ hours} = 248.55 \text{ miles}
]
Thus, the car will travel approximately 248.55 miles in 5 hours.
Explanation
To begin with, we used the well-known conversion factor between kilometers and miles. This conversion factor is based on the fact that there are about 0.621371 miles in 1 kilometer. By multiplying the car’s speed of 80 km/h by this factor, we were able to convert it into miles per hour. This is important because different regions use different units of measurement for speed, with kilometers per hour being common in many parts of the world (such as Europe and most of Asia), and miles per hour being standard in the United States.
Next, we used basic multiplication to determine how far the car travels in a specific period (5 hours). Since the car travels at 49.71 miles per hour, over 5 hours it covers a distance of 248.55 miles. This is a simple application of the relationship between speed, time, and distance:
[
\text{Distance} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time}
]
This method provides a straightforward way to solve for distance given speed and time.