An ant crawls in a straight line at a constant speed of 0.24 m/s for a distance of 3.0 m, beginning in the corner of a square classroom. It then turns exactly 90 degrees to the right, and proceeds an additional 4.0 m, reaching the far corner of the same wall from which it began. If the second leg of the journey was crawled in half the amount of time as the first, what was the ant's average speed for the whole trip?
A) 0.80 m/s
B) 0.27 m/s
C) 0.37 m/s
D) 0.44 m/s

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For the first leg of the journey, the ant crawls a distance of 3.0 m at a speed of 0.24 m/s. Using the formula speed = distance/time, we can solve for the time it takes: 
time = distance/speed = 3.0 m / 0.24 m/s = 12.5 s

For the second leg of the journey, the ant crawls a distance of 4.0 m, which is twice the speed of the first leg since it takes half the time. Using the formula speed = distance/time, we can solve for the new speed: 
time = 12.5 s / 2 = 6.25 s
speed = distance/time = 4.0 m / 6.25 s = 0.64 m/s

To find the average speed for the whole trip, we can use the formula: 
average speed = total distance / total time

The total distance is the sum of the distances for both legs, which is 3.0 m + 4.0 m = 7.0 m.

The total time is the sum of the time for both legs, which is 12.5 s + 6.25 s = 18.75 s.

Putting it all together: 
average speed = total distance / total time = 7.0 m / 18.75 s = 0.37 m/s

Therefore, the answer is C.

An Ant Crawls in a Straight Line at a Constant