My grand-nephew has a question for school that will get him extra credit.
How if a young man who has an 18 inch step far will he have to travel in miles if he takes one step forward and two steps back to reach 10 miles and 100 miles?
I have no idea how to figure this out. Can one of you fine people explain it so that I could explain it to him?
I don't have a printer either.
Thanks so much.
2007-09-07 04:44:25 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
To the two people who didn't refer to this question as a joke, thank you. I don't think my nephew's teacher would have asked the whole class to find an answer to a joke.
2007-09-07 05:01:31 · update #1
The 18 inches is a red-herring. It does not affect the answer.
To go 10 miles, he will have to actually travel 30. It's a simple matter of efficiency.
To travel 18 inches, he actually goes 18 forward, then 18 backwards, and then 18 more backwards. That means to travel some distance (like 18) he has to actually do three times as much work (18+18+18=54).
The point is that he is operating at 1/3 efficiency. To get to some distance N miles, he has to travel 3N miles.
So to travel 10 miles, he really has to walk 30.
To travel 100, he has to walk 300.
And of course, he's going 10 miles backwards, in the end, since he's taking more steps backwards than forwards. So he better point himself in the opposite direction from where he wants to go.
2007-09-07 04:53:14 · answer #1 · answered by сhееsеr1 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The length of the step doesn't matter. For each step forward he takes 2 backward for a net backward movement of one step. For the man to travel a distance of 10 miles backward from his starting point he would need to travel 3 times the distance since it takes 3 steps (1 forward and 2 backward) to make 1 step backward. i.e. 30 miles and 300 miles respectively.
2007-09-07 11:52:15 · answer #2 · answered by Steven 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, there is 5,280 feet in a mile and that means there are 63,360 inches in a mile. So you multiply 63,360 by 10 and you get 633,600. That is the distance you nee to travel. Now about the step part... Then you divide 633,600 by 18 ,because if you take one forward and two back you go 18 inches backwards, you get 35,200.
So if you want to go 10 miles it would be 35,200 steps.
Then you just multiply 35,200 by 10 and you get 352,000.
So your answers are 10 miles= 35,200 steps
100 miles= 352,000 steps
Hope this helps
2007-09-07 11:54:50 · answer #3 · answered by drummingismylife 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I never was either, but I know some multiplication and I manage ok, in math.
What's a step far?
5 steps.
2007-09-07 11:50:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is a possible joke as i have seen this one before, he turned around and started walking home. think about it...i have gotten this on my hwk before and if he is a younger child or its on a sheet he has recieved i can defiantly say this is the answer to the joke.
many love and god luck to your nephew.
2007-09-07 11:50:40 · answer #5 · answered by Mr.Gunman 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
He'd be traveling backwards.
2007-09-07 11:52:30 · answer #6 · answered by nursesr4evr 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it's a joke - he'll never make it if he takes 2 back for every 1 fwd - he'll be home...
2007-09-07 11:52:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I was never good in maths either, sorry
2007-09-07 11:49:32 · answer #8 · answered by Ya-sai 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
i also had aproblem in my schooling days.
2007-09-07 11:54:04 · answer #9 · answered by jemo 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋