Question

a high speed elevator can rise 480 feet in 30 seconds. what expression represents the rate, in feet per minute, of the elevator?

Answer 1

We know that the elevator can rise 480 feet in 30 seconds.  From this, we can figure out how many feet the elevator rises per second.

480 feet / 30 seconds = 16 feet / 1 second

This means that the elevator rises 16 feet in 1 second.
However, the question asks how many feet the elevator can rise per minute, so we have to multiply this amount by 60, because there are 60 seconds in a minute.

16 feet * 60 = 960 feet per minute.

Therefore, the high speed elevator can rise 960 feet in a minute.