a hummingbird flaps its wings 5,000 times a minute when hovering in place. How many times will it flap it wings in 15 seconds?
To find out how many times the hummingbird will flap its wings in 15 seconds, we need to convert 15 seconds into minutes.
Since there are 60 seconds in a minute, 15 seconds is equal to 15/60 = 0.25 minutes.
Therefore, the hummingbird will flap its wings 0.25 * 5,000 = <<0.25*5000=1250>>1250 times in 15 seconds. Answer: \boxed{1250}.