Question

The men\'s world record for swimming 1500.0 m in a long course pool (as of 2007) is 14 min 34.56 s. At this rate, how many seconds would it take to swim 0.750 miles? (1 mi = 1609 m.)

Answer 1

14 minutes is 14 * 60 seconds, equal to 840 seconds. So, 14 minutes 34.56 seconds is equal to 874.56 seconds.
1 mile is 1609 meters. So, 1500 meters is 1500/1609 miles, or 0.93 miles
If it takes 874.56 seconds to travel 0.93 miles, it takes 874.56/0.93 seconds to travel 1 mile. This is equal to 940.38 seconds to travel 1 mile.
If it takes 940.38 seconds to travel 1 mile, it should take 3/4 that time to travel 3/4 a mile. 940.38 * 3/4 = 705.29 seconds