Every few years, sailboats of different countries compete in a race for a trophy called the America's Cup. The boats sail over the same distance. What, besides the distance, is needed to find out the speed of each boat in the race? a the skill of the crew of each boat in the race b the time it takes each boat to finish the race c the size of each boat in the race d the speed of the wind during the race
To find out the speed of each boat in the race, you will need to know:
b. the time it takes each boat to finish the race
Speed is a measure of distance covered over time. Therefore, if you have the distance of the race and the time it takes for each boat to complete that distance, you can calculate the speed using the formula:
Speed = Distance / Time
The skill of the crew (a), the size of the boat (c), and the speed of the wind (d) can all affect the boat's performance and speed, but they are not directly used in the calculation of speed. These factors might contribute to variations in the time it takes for boats to finish the race, which would then influence the speed calculation. However, for the pure mathematical calculation of speed, only the distance and the time are necessary.