Question

pat wants to enter a typing contest. in order to enter, one has to be able to type 50 words per min. pat took 15 seconds to type 10 words. can she enter the contest.

Answer 1

Well, if a minute is 60 seconds, and she typed 10 words in 15 seconds, we can easily calculate the words per minute. Since 15 * 4 = 60, we need to do the same with 10. Ten * 4 = 40, so she cannot enter the typing contest. I hope this helps you.

Answer 2

There are 60 seconds in a minute.  So first we take 60 and divide it by 15.  That gives us 4.  So there are 4 15 second increments where Pat types 10 words.  So if she types 10 words in 15 seconds, and there are only 4 15 second increments in a full minute, then she can't enter because she can only type 40 words per minute.