You just competed in a track meet and you ran the 1500 m race in 413 s. What was your average speed in miles per hour?

Answer 1

We will use dimensional analysis to multiply across the conversion units until the unwanted units are cancelled and we are left with the correct units:

1500 meters/413 seconds x (1 mile/ 1609.34 meters) x (60 seconds/ 1 minute) x ( 60 minutes/ 1 hour) =

8.124 miles per hour.