A fish takes 14 minutes to swim 1 mile up a river.At this point a dam breaks and causes a current of 36 miles per hour to push him 0.6 miles downstream in 1 minute.What is the fish's average velocity for this entire trip?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the fish's average velocity for the entire trip, we need to find the total distance traveled by the fish and the total time taken.

Distance traveled upstream = 1 mile 
Time taken upstream = 14 minutes

Distance traveled downstream = 0.6 miles 
Time taken downstream = 1 minute

Total distance traveled = 1 + 0.6 = 1.6 miles 
Total time taken = 14 + 1 = 15 minutes

Now, we can use the formula:
average velocity = total distance / total time

Substituting the values, we get: 
average velocity = 1.6 miles / 15 minutes

Converting minutes to hours (by dividing by 60), we get: 
average velocity = 0.1067 miles per hour

So, the best choice is (C), which is approximately 1.6 mph.

A Fish Takes 14 Minutes to Swim 1 Mile Up