A military cargo plane flies from Base Alpha to Base Bravo at a steady cruising speed of 3… — Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

A military cargo plane flies from Base Alpha to Base Bravo at a steady cruising speed of $320\text{ miles per hour}$ . This first leg of the flight takes $2\text{ hours and } 45\text{ minutes}$ . After refueling, the plane continues to Base Charlie, flying at $280\text{ miles per hour}$ for $1\text{ hour and } 30\text{ minutes}$ . What is the total distance traveled by the cargo plane from Base Alpha to Base Charlie? Include both the numeric value and unit in your answer (e.g., '500 miles').

Answer: 1300 miles / 1,300 miles / 1300 mi / 1300 / 1,300

Answer

1300 miles

The correct answer is found by first converting all travel times into decimal hours. The first leg is

2.75

hours at

320\text{ mph}

, covering

880\text{ miles}

. The second leg is

1.5

hours at

280\text{ mph}

, covering

420\text{ miles}

. Adding these two distances yields a total of

1300\text{ miles}

Step-by-Step Solution

Convert the flight times into decimal hours.

2\text{ hours and } 45\text{ minutes} = 2.75\text{ hours}

;

1\text{ hour and } 30\text{ minutes} = 1.5\text{ hours}

To calculate distance using miles per hour, the time units must be converted to hours.

Calculate the distance for the first leg from Base Alpha to Base Bravo.

320\text{ mph} \times 2.75\text{ hours} = 880\text{ miles}

Distance equals rate multiplied by time (

d = r \times t

Calculate the distance for the second leg from Base Bravo to Base Charlie.

280\text{ mph} \times 1.5\text{ hours} = 420\text{ miles}

The second leg must be calculated independently due to the change in both speed and travel time.

Add the distances of both legs to find the total distance traveled.

880\text{ miles} + 420\text{ miles} = 1300\text{ miles}

The total journey distance is the sum of the distances of all individual legs.

Key Concept

Calculating multi-leg total distance using

d = r \times t

with unit conversions.

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