An ant travels 30 cm every 2 minutes. What pace does the ant travel per centimeter?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking us to determine the pace at which an ant travels per centimeter, given that it travels 30 cm every 2 minutes. To solve this, we will first calculate the time it takes for the ant to travel 1 cm and then represent it as a pace.
Answer
4 seconds per centimeter
Answer for screen readers
The pace at which the ant travels is 4 seconds per centimeter.
Steps to Solve
- Determine the speed of the ant
First, we need to find out how much distance the ant travels in one minute. Since the ant travels 30 cm in 2 minutes, we can divide by 2:
$$ \text{Speed} = \frac{30 \text{ cm}}{2 \text{ min}} = 15 \text{ cm/min} $$
- Calculate the time taken to travel 1 cm
Next, we find out how long it takes the ant to travel 1 cm. We can use the speed we just calculated:
$$ \text{Time for 1 cm} = \frac{1 \text{ cm}}{15 \text{ cm/min}} = \frac{1}{15} \text{ min} $$
- Convert time into a usable format
We can convert the time from minutes into seconds, since there are 60 seconds in a minute:
$$ \text{Time for 1 cm in seconds} = \frac{1}{15} \times 60 \text{ seconds} = 4 \text{ seconds} $$
Now we know that the ant takes 4 seconds to travel 1 cm.
The pace at which the ant travels is 4 seconds per centimeter.
More Information
The calculated pace tells us how efficient the ant is in its movement. Understanding an ant's pace can also help scientists study ant behavior and navigation.
Tips
- Mistaking the total distance for the time taken per centimeter. Ensure to divide the total distance by the time correctly to avoid confusion.
- Forgetting to convert time into the desired unit (e.g., seconds).
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