Question

Speeding A trucker handed in a ticket at a toll booth showing that in \(2 \mathrm{~h}\) she had covered \(159 \mathrm{mi}\) on a toll road with speed limit \(65 \mathrm{mph} .\) The trucker was cited for speeding. Why?

Short answer

The trucker's average speed came out to be 79.5 mph, which is greater than the speed limit of 65 mph. Hence, the trucker was rightly cited for speeding.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the Given Information

From the exercise, we can identify the distance covered as 159 miles and the time taken as 2 hours. The speed limit for the road is 65 mph.

Calculate the Average Speed

We calculate the average speed using the formula: \[Average Speed = \frac{distance}{time}\]In this case, that's \[Average Speed = \frac{159 miles}{2 hours}\]

Compare the Average Speed to the Speed Limit

After calculating, if the average speed is higher than the speed limit of 65 mph, that means the trucker was speeding.