To convert 15 hours to seconds correctly, we need to follow a two-step process:
1. Convert hours to minutes:
[tex]\[
15 \text{ hours} \times \frac{60 \text{ minutes}}{1 \text{ hour}} = 900 \text{ minutes}
\][/tex]
2. Convert minutes to seconds:
[tex]\[
900 \text{ minutes} \times \frac{60 \text{ seconds}}{1 \text{ minute}} = 54{,}000 \text{ seconds}
\][/tex]
The student’s incorrect attempt shows:
[tex]\[
15 \text{ hours} \times \frac{60 \text{ seconds}}{1 \text{ minute}} = 900 \text{ seconds}
\][/tex]
Clearly, the student skipped the correct step for converting hours to minutes first, which involves:
[tex]\[
\frac{60 \text{ minutes}}{1 \text{ hour}}
\][/tex]
By skipping this conversion, the student went directly from hours to seconds by using the wrong factor.
So, the conversion ratio skipped by the student is:
[tex]\[
\frac{60 \text{ minutes}}{1 \text{ hour}}
\][/tex]
Thus, the correct answer is:
D. [tex]\(\frac{60 \text{ minutes}}{1 \text{ hour}}\)[/tex]
