document.write( "Question 416911: How long does it take someone traveling 30 mph to travel 284 feet. I thought it was t=d/r, turning the distance of 284 to a % of miles, or .0537878. I came up with .0537878/30mph=.00179. But now I'm confused about what .00179 is. So, I divided is by 60, thinking it was a percentage of an hour and came up with 2.98. Would that be right...it takes 2.98 seconds to travel 284 feet if you're going 30 mph? \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #291987 by htmentor(1343) $\"\"$ $\"About$

You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Everything you did up until the end was correct, but I think you lost track of units.
\n" ); document.write( "284 ft = 284 ft/(5280 ft/mi) = 0.0537878 miles. Keeping the units in the calculation helps avoid confusion.
\n" ); document.write( "You are correct that t = d/r.
\n" ); document.write( "Using the value for r given in the problem and the distance in miles that we just calculated gives
\n" ); document.write( "t = 0.0537878 mi/(30 mi/hr) = 0.001793 hrs.
\n" ); document.write( "This is the time required in hrs.
\n" ); document.write( "Converting to seconds gives -> 0.001793 hr * 60 min/hr * 60 sec/min = 6.45 sec.
\n" ); document.write( "Notice that the hr and min cancel and we are left with secs. \n" ); document.write( "

\n" );