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 size of each boat in the race
b
the time it takes each boat to finish the race
c
the speed of the wind during the race
d
the skill of the crew of each boat in the race
b
the time it takes each boat to finish the race
Speed is calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the time it takes to travel that distance. Therefore, to determine the speed of each boat in the America's Cup, you need to know the time each boat takes to complete the race course, in addition to the distance of the race.
Option (a), the size of the boat, does not directly determine speed. Option (c), the speed of the wind, affects boat speed but is not used to calculate speed mathematically. Option (d), the skill of the crew, also impacts performance but is not a factor in the speed calculation.