A tourist uses a map of a national park with a scale of 1 : 40 000. On the map, the straight line distance between the campsite and the waterfall is measured as 7.5 cm. The tourist walks at a constant speed of 6 km/h. Estimate how many minutes it will take the tourist to walk from the campsite to the waterfall, taking into account the real distance.
Answer
30 minutes
The correct answer is 30 minutes — Thus the walk will take 30 minutes.
Step-by-step solution
- Convert the map distance to real distance: 1 cm = 40 000 cm = 400 m, so 7.5 cm = 7.5 × 400 m = 3000 m.
- Convert metres to kilometres: 3000 m ÷ 1000 = 3 km.
- Compute travel time: time = 3 km ÷ 6 km/h = 0.5 h.
- Convert hours to minutes: 0.5 h × 60 min/h = 30 min.
- Thus the walk will take 30 minutes.
Common mistake: Using the wrong conversion factor (e.g., 1 cm = 400 m but treating it as 400 cm).
Concept tested: Map scale and travel time calculation
Published · How this solution was prepared and checked
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