Advanced algebra question...?

Question

okay, im in 11th grade math and this question is probably actually very easy, but the answer i keep getting doesn't sound right. okay, here's the question...

'the elevator in the washington monument takes 75 seconds to travel 500 feet to the top floor. what is the speed of the elevator in miles per hour? give your answer to two significant digits. show your work!'

please help me out, im not feeling too smart right now... lol

thanks!

have a good night!

;)

Answer 1

I set up a proportion.

500ft / 75 sec = x miles / 1 hr

I found out that to turn 75 seconds into hours, you multiply by 48.  

500 * 48 = 24,000 ft / 1 hr.  

Now, you need to find out how many feet are in a mile.

1 mile = 5280 ft.  

So, to change feet to miles, you divide by 5280.  

24,000/5280 = 4.54 repeating.