Create a proportion to evaluate the actual distance.
5 715 h
Practice makes perfect
We are given that the scale of a map is 2centimeters: 160miles. Our first step will be to find the actual width of New Mexico. To do this, we will create a proportion.
2/160=distance on map/actual distance
Since we know that the width of New Mexico is 4.1 centimeters on the map, we can substitute this value into the proportion. Let x represent the actual width.
2/160=4.1/x
Now we will solve the above proportion for x using cross multiplication.
The actual width of New Mexico is 328 miles. Next, we are asked to evaluate how long it would take to drive across New Mexico if we drove 60 miles per hour. To do this, we will recall the speed formula and solve it for time.
Speed=Distance/Time
⇓
Time=Distance/Speed
Finally, we will substitute 60 miles per hour for speed and 328 miles for distance. Let t be the time.
