An athlete prepares for practice by walking 820 m in 10.3 min and sprinting 600 m in 3.8 min. Determine the athlete's average speed in metres per second.
distance = 820 + 600
time = 10.3 * 60 + 3.8 * 60
average speed = distance / time
To find the athlete's average speed in meters per second, we need to calculate the total distance covered and the total time taken for both walking and sprinting.
Let's start with the distance covered while walking: 820 m.
The time taken to walk 820 m is 10.3 minutes. To convert this to seconds, we multiply it by 60 since there are 60 seconds in a minute:
10.3 minutes x 60 seconds/minute = 618 seconds
Next, let's consider the distance covered while sprinting: 600 m.
The time taken to sprint 600 m is 3.8 minutes. Converting this to seconds:
3.8 minutes x 60 seconds/minute = 228 seconds
Now, we can calculate the total distance covered:
Total distance = Distance walked + Distance sprinted
Total distance = 820 m + 600 m = 1420 m
And the total time taken:
Total time = Time spent walking + Time spent sprinting
Total time = 618 seconds + 228 seconds = 846 seconds
Finally, we can calculate the average speed by dividing the total distance by the total time:
Average speed = Total distance / Total time
Average speed = 1420 m / 846 seconds ≈ 1.68 m/s
Therefore, the athlete's average speed is approximately 1.68 meters per second.