SOLUTION: How long would it take me to reach the moon if my speed was 70 mph?
Algebra.Com
Question 592736: How long would it take me to reach the moon if my speed was 70 mph?
Answer by lmeeks54(111) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Here's a 'The Big Bang Theory' geek answer followed by the real answer you want:
...
Never mind the futility of only being able to travel to the moon at such a frustratingly slow speed (incredibly slow in terms of "normal" space travel rates). It's a little bit of a silly question. E.g., 70 mph is so precise, even if you could maintain exactly that speed for the whole trip, but the distance is really so vague. So we're trying to solve this problem with a precise number and a very imprecise one.
...
Let me explain: the moon is not one fixed distance away. According to measurements of lasers bounced off corner reflectors left on the moon in the 1970's, the moon's closest distance to the earth is 363,104 km and the furthest distance is 405,696 km. So when is our trip? When the moon is closest? When the moon is farthest? Or some other value in between?
...
For the purposes of getting away from this silliness, let's presume we are talking about the average distance between the earth and the moon. That is 384,392 km. The conversion between kilometers and miles is: 1.609 km = 1 mi. So, divide the average distance by 1.609 to convert the avg distance to miles, and we get: 238,901 miles.
...
Now we have a simple time/distance/rate problem, which is solved by any of these basic equations:
...
Let t = time in hrs
Let d = distance in miles
Let r = rate in miles per hour
...
(Note: we don't need to use these units, but it is easiest to solve if they are all in easy to relate units...and these are the ones from this problem.)
...
The basic equation is:
...
d = t * r, which can also be written as:
t = d / r, or...
r = d / t
...
We are given the rate, r (our precise 70 mph speed) and the distance, d (our very imprecise distance to the moon, which we will assume the problem wants us to use the average distance to the moon of 238,901 miles), so the problem wants us to solve for t, the time to drive/fly 238,901 miles @ 70 miles per hour.
...
t = d / r
t = 238,901 / 70
t = 3,412.87 hrs
...
~3,400 hrs is not very useful answer, so we can convert it to days, hours, minutes (and seconds) if we choose:
...
divide 3,412.87 by 24 to convert hours to:
142 days
...
with remainder (24 hrs/day x 142 days = 3,408 hrs
...
take the remaing 4.87 hrs and convert to:
...
4 hours
52 minutes
26.4 seconds
...
This is the answer to the time/distance/rate problem asked...in mathematical terms.
...
In practical terms, it's still not a very satisfactory answer. The earth - moon distance measurements are most often given in terms of the center of mass of the earth to the center of mass of the moon. But we won't fly from center to center, but rather from surface to surface. Anyway, you get the point: though it's still a silly question, it is useful in illustrating time/distance/rate problems.
...
And the answer and method provided are correct enough for this purpose.
...
cheers,
Lee
RELATED QUESTIONS
How long would it take to reach the moon if you traveled with a speed of 100 km/hr (about (answered by nyc_function)
if a car is traveling at a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph) how long would it take the... (answered by solver91311)
If my target destination is 20km and the speed of my car is 100km per hour, how long... (answered by Alan3354)
if i was traveling 3000 miles at 70 mph how long would it take me to get... (answered by rfer)
How long would it take me to travel between the Earth and the Moon if I were traveling at (answered by richwmiller,Alan3354)
If traveling at the speed of 70 mph how long would it take to drive 116... (answered by Alan3354)
Suppose it takes 3 days for a space vehicle to travel from earth to the moon about how... (answered by jim_thompson5910)
Thank you Jim for your last answer. I really appreciate it!!
Please help me solve... (answered by mananth)
This on has me stumped. Suppose it takes three days for a space vechicle to travel from... (answered by Fombitz)