Step 1: Calculating distance at maximum speed
If the cheetah sprinted at maximum speed, how far would the cheetah have traveled?
a) Set up an equation to represent the distance the cheetah covered in terms of t minutes running
at maximum speed. Remember, units of distance and time must agree. Use the conversion information from the warm-up to write a rate in miles per minute.
b) Let t = 10 and solve for the distance the cheetah covered in 10 minutes.
Step 2: Calculating distance using varied speeds
Suppose the cheetah sprinted at maximum speed for 8 minutes and then slowed to 40 mph for the next 8 minutes.
a) How far would the cheetah have traveled in the first 8 minutes? Show how you arrived at
your answer.
b) How far would the cheetah have traveled in the next 8 minutes? Show how you arrived at
your answer.
c) How much farther did the cheetah travel in the first 8 minutes than in the second 8 minutes?
d) The cheetah traveled 1.75 times faster for the first 8 minutes than it did for the second 8 minutes. Was the distance traveled during the first 8 minutes 1.75 times greater than the distance traveled during the second 8 minutes? Show the calculation to justify your answer.
e) If the cheetah made a round-trip and took half the amount of time on the return trip as on the front end of the trip, what would be the relationship between the average rates on each leg of the trip? Using a complete sentence, explain how you arrived at this conclusion.
Step 3: Calculating time
Assume that the cheetah travels an average of 40 mph to go from its resting place to a rock near a river. On the return trip to its resting place, the cheetah travels an average of 70 mph. If the cheetah traveled for 15 minutes, how many minutes did the return trip take to the nearest minute and second?
a) Set up the table as follows. Label the rows “To the River” and “From the River.” Label the columns “Distance,” “Rate,” and “Time (in Hours).” Let t represent the unknown quantity in the problem. Fill in the table.
b) From the table, set up an equation relating the distances.
c) Solve the problem. Write the answer in a complete sentence, stating it in terms of minutes
and seconds.
