Question

a sailboat captain is mapping a trip and wants to know the distance the sailboat will travel over certain time intervals. assuming that the sailboat travels at a constant speed, what is its speed?

time (hours)	distance (miles)
1	?
1.5	22.5

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the formula for speed

Speed is calculated as the ratio of distance to time, so the formula is \( \text{Speed} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Time}} \).

Step2: Use the first set of values to calculate speed

We can use the time of \( 0.5 \) hours and distance of \( 7.5 \) miles. Plugging into the formula, we get \( \text{Speed} = \frac{7.5}{0.5} \).

Step3: Perform the division

\( \frac{7.5}{0.5} = 15 \) miles per hour. We can also check with the third set of values: \( \frac{22.5}{1.5} = 15 \) miles per hour, which confirms the speed is constant.

Answer:

The speed of the sailboat is \( 15 \) miles per hour.