Question 1

Two boys ages 17 and 15 have just died after stealing a car and leading police on chase down the interstate. The chase began after a state police officer at mile marker 14 on the Interstate spotted the car, which had been reported stolen from a car lot in town, and pursued it. The chase ended 30 minutes later at mile marker 37, where the car skidded sideways in a curve and rolled several times, fatally injuring both boys. According to initial reports, the pursuing officer said the speed of the boys’ car ranged from 80 to 110 m.p.h. throughout the 23-mile chase. If the boys’ car truly had traveled at least 80 m.p.h. for the entire 30 minutes of the chase, how many miles would the chase have covered?

Distance = Rate X Time

Distance = 80 m.p.h. X .5 hour (30 minutes)

40 miles = 80 m.p.h. X .5 hour (30 minutes)

Question 2

The mayor’s neighbors are unhappy. They say he routinely speeds through the neighborhood on his way to and from City Hall, and complaints to the police department about the mayor’s habit have been ignored. The speed limit on the subdivision’s main street is 30 m.p.h. To check out the claim, you precisely measure and mark a quarter-mile (that is, 1320-foot) stretch of the subdivision’s main street. Then, with the help of a fellow reporter, two precisely synchronized stopwatches, and two neighbors who volunteer living room windows with a good view of your marks, you spend a week logging how long it takes the mayor’s car to travel from one mark to the other as he comes and goes from work each day. The average time comes to 20 seconds. What is the average speed, in miles-per-hour, of the mayor’s car as he drives the stretch? Helpful hint: There are (60 seconds per minute x 60 minutes per hour) = 3,600 seconds in an hour.

Distance = Rate X Time

Rate = Distance/Time

Rate = .25 mile/20 seconds (1/3 minute)

Rate = .75 mile/1 minute

Rate = 45 miles/60 minutes

Rate = 45 miles/1 hour

Rate = 45 m.p.h.

Question 3

Metroville General Hospital has petitioned the state’s hospital regulatory board for permission to buy a new emergency transport helicopter. The helicopter the hospital wants to buy has a top flight speed of 160 m.p.h., according to the manufacturer’s website. The new helicopter would replace the hospital’s present emergency transport helicopter, which can fly 150 m.p.h. at top speed. Records show that two-thirds of the helicopter’s trips in the last year carried critically ill or injured patients to a larger university hospital in the state capital that offers more specialized care than what is available at Metroville General. The two hospitals are 88 miles apart by air. How many minutes faster would the new helicopter make the trip compared to the present helicopter, assuming both aircraft flew the entire distance at top speed?

Distance = Rate X Time

Time = Distance/Rate

Time = 88 miles/150 m.p.h.

Time = .587 hour

Time = 88 miles/160 m.p.h.

Time = .55 hour

Time difference = .587 hour - .55 hour

Time difference = .037 hour (60 minutes)

Time difference = 2.22 minutes