Gary runs at a speed of 2 meters per second for 2 minutes, then stops for a minute and runs again for 2 minutes at the same speed.
What is the average speed?
Let's begin solving this problem by following the outlined steps:
- **Step 1**: Convert the time to seconds.
Running time for each interval = 2 minutes=2×60=120 seconds.
Rest time = 1 minute=60 seconds.
- **Step 2**: Calculate the distance covered during each running interval.
Distance for the first interval, d1=2 m/s×120 s=240 meters.
Distance for the second interval, d2=2 m/s×120 s=240 meters.
- **Step 3**: Determine the total distance and total time.
Total distance, D=d1+d2=240 m+240 m=480 meters.
Total time, T=120 s+60 s+120 s=300 seconds.
- **Step 4**: Calculate the average speed.
Average speed=Total timeTotal distance=300 s480 m=1.6 meters/second
Thus, Gary's average speed is 1.6 meters per second.
1.6 meters per second