Shayla was late for school. She ran the last half mile in 4 minutes. What was her average speed in miles per hour?

A. 2 mph
B. 7.5 mph
C. 4.5 mph
D. 8 mph



Answer :

To determine Shayla's average speed while running the last half mile, we need to follow these steps:

1. Understand the Problem:
- Distance Shayla ran: 0.5 miles
- Time taken to run this distance: 4 minutes

2. Convert Time from Minutes to Hours:
Since speed needs to be expressed in miles per hour, we'll convert the time from minutes to hours.
- There are 60 minutes in an hour. So, time in hours is calculated as follows:
[tex]\[ \text{Time in hours} = \frac{\text{Time in minutes}}{60} = \frac{4}{60} = 0.0667 \text{ hours} \][/tex]

3. Calculate Average Speed:
Average speed is given by the formula:
[tex]\[ \text{Average Speed} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Time}} \][/tex]
Plugging in the values we have:
[tex]\[ \text{Average Speed} = \frac{0.5 \text{ miles}}{0.0667 \text{ hours}} = 7.5 \text{ mph} \][/tex]

Shayla's average speed while running was 7.5 miles per hour. Therefore, the correct answer is:

B. 7.5 mph