a train travels 146 miles in 2 hours, at this rate how many miles will it travel in 3.5 hours

Question

It has to do with solving proportions dsbuhbuhbdshubifbvdi

 

Answer 1

This is how I would personally solve this problem...

 

You know the train travelled 146 miles over the course of 2 hours. We can find out how many miles/hour (mph) the train is moving if we just take 146/2 = 73 mph.

 

Since we don't want to know how far the train moved in 1 hour, but instead 3.5 hours, we take (73 mph)x(3.5 hours) = 255.5 miles

 

The other way you could solve it is to set up two fraction that are equal to each other.

 

146 miles/2 hours = x miles/3.5 hours

 

These methods are in reality the exact same thing and when you solve for x, you will get the exact same value.

Answer 2

You can use dimensional analysis where units cancel until you end up with what you want.

 

146 miles/2 hours = 73 miles/hour

73 miles/hour x 3.5 hours = 255.5 miles