Step by step
The question
Question: A plane flies 600 km in 48 minutes.
What is its speed in km/h?
1 Find what we know
What do we know?
The plane goes 600 km in 48 minutes.
What do we want?
The speed, in km per hour.
2 Name the unknown
We don't know the speed.
So we call it x km/h.
Speed is in km per hour.
So the time must be in hours too.
1 hour is 60 minutes.
So 48 minutes is 48/60, which is 4/5 of an hour.
Careful!
600 divided by 48 gives km in each minute, not in each hour.
So we use the time in hours.
How far we go: speed times time.
3 Write the equation
In words: speed times time makes the distance.
So the equation is 4x/5 = 600.
Now we solve it.
4 Remove the fraction
The bottom number is 5.
Times 5 will remove it.
We multiply every part by 5.
We do it on both sides, so they stay equal.
5 divided by 5 is 1.
Write what is left.
Do the multiplications.
No more fractions!
5 Remove the 4
4x means 4 times x.
We want just x.
To remove times 4, we divide by 4.
We do it on both sides, so they stay equal.
4 divided by 4 is 1.
So just x is left.
3000 divided by 4 is 750.
So x = 750!
6 Answer the question
So the speed is 750 km/h.
7 Check
Let's check in the story.
750 km/h for 4/5 of an hour: 750 times 4/5 is 600 km, like the story says.
So the answer is right!
Let's look back.
First: find what we know.
Then: name the unknown.
Then: write the equation.
Then: solve it.
Then: answer the question.
Last: check.