Yesterday I posted a problem that one of the students in my ASVAB prep course had asked me to solve. Today I am presenting the explanation of how to solve it to provide help to people’s understanding of this ASVAB math topic. This problem is a distance and rate example that can be solved as a proportion. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I always say that I cannot emphasize the importance of proportions enough. Proportions are a critical part of the Arithmetic Reasoning section of the ASVAB. When looking for someone who tutors for the ASVAB, make sure the person places a strong emphasis on proportions.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to identify the components of the proportion. I would set it up as miles over minutes. The bird flies 2/3 of a mile in 1 minute. To figure out how fast the bird travels in miles per hour, I would change 1 hour to 6o minutes. Then I would be able to set up the proportion of miles/minutes
miles/ minutes 2/3 / 1. = x / 60
I would cross multiply and solve for x.
2/3 x 60/1 = 120 /3 = 40 miles per hour
The bird travels at 40 miles per hour.
