Question

Sally was trying to calculate the speed of the hummingbirds feeding outside her window. Sally measured the distance from one feeder to the next, 24 meters. Then she sat and timed how long it took a hummingbird to fly from one feeder to the next. She timed 10 trials and calculated the average time, 3 seconds. What was the average speed of the hummingbird flying from one feeder to the other? A) 6 m/s B) 8 m/s C) 24 m/s D) 72 m/s

Answer 1

Answer:

B. 8 m/s (meters per second)

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to solve this problem, we can make a ratio table. For every 3 seconds, a hummingbird flies 24 meters to get from one feeder to another. This situation can be mathematically written as 3:24. However, we want to get a unit rate that describes how many meters a hummingbird travels in one second. The 3 in 3:24 represents the seconds. To create a unit rate, the 3 must be divided into 1. 3 divided by 3 would be 1. However, what you do to one section you must do to the other. 24 divided by 3 is 8. The hummingbird travels 8 meters per second.