How Long Until You Reach the Curve at 180.7 km/hr?

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SUMMARY

Traveling at a speed of 180.7 km/hr and covering a distance of 0.5 km, the time to reach the curve is calculated using the formula t = d/v. The calculation yields approximately 0.00276 hours, which converts to 9.936 seconds. However, due to significant figures, the answer should reflect the precision of the distance measurement, which is only one significant figure, thus necessitating a rounding of the final answer.

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Homework Statement


Traveling at a speed of 180.7 km/hr, you only have about 1/2 km until you reach the curve. At this speed, how many seconds do you have until you reach the curve? Don't forget to convert your answer to the correct units.

Homework Equations


t = d/v ??

The Attempt at a Solution


.5km / 180.7km/hr the km's cancel out and the result is 0.00276 hr

To convert to the units, taking 3600 seconds and multiply by 0.00276 = 9.936 seconds to reach the curve.

Is this correct?

Thank you,
z28
 
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This is correct-ish.

Does your teacher care about "significant figures" (aka "sig figs")?

Because the speed is given to four digits, but the distance given is only "about 1/2 km" which is only a single sig fig. That means your answer, which is precise to the thousandth of a second, contains too many digits to be of any use.
 
Oh, yes, I see. Thank you
 

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