QuestionLatrell is scuba diving off the coast of Australia. When he is ready to come back to the surface, he rises 12 meters at a safe speed. He climbs 15 centimeters every second. How many seconds will it take him to reach the surface?
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking?
How long does it take Latrell to swim 12 meters if he swims 15 centimeters every second?
Watch out!
The problem uses different units: meters and centimeters!
We need to make sure to convert them to the same unit before doing any calculations.
STEP 2
1. Convert units
2. Calculate the time
STEP 3
Alright, let's **convert** those pesky meters to centimeters!
We know that 1 meter is equal to 100 centimeters.
So, we're going to **multiply** our **12 meters** by **100 centimeters/meter** to get the distance in centimeters.
Why multiply?
Because we want meters to *divide to one* and be left with centimeters!
STEP 4
STEP 5
Boom! Latrell needs to swim **1200 centimeters**.
STEP 6
Latrell swims **15 centimeters** every **second**.
We want to know how many seconds it takes him to swim **1200 centimeters**.
To figure this out, we're going to **divide** the **total distance** by the **distance per second**.
Why divide?
Because we want centimeters to *divide to one* and be left with seconds!
STEP 7
STEP 8
Let's do that division!
STEP 9
So, it takes Latrell **80 seconds** to reach the surface.
STEP 10
It will take Latrell **80 seconds** to reach the surface.
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