At the Denver Airport last month, Mr. P noticed the behavior of people on the Moving Sidewalks. Some people just stood on the walkways;
some people walked on the walkways; and some people avoided the walkways.
Seth Young, director of the Center for Aviation Studies at Ohio State University conducted empirical observations at several airports for his doctoral
dissertation years ago. He found that normal walking speed is approximately 3 mph through an airport. People walking on a moving walkway
stride at roughly 2.24 mph, Young found, indicating that they slow down from their normal 3 mph rate.
The moving walkways travel at 123.2 feet per minute.
Using the information above, answer the following questions, leaving your answers to the first three questions in miles per hour (mph):
(1) How fast does a person move who is just standing on a moving sidewalk?
(2) How fast does a person move who is walking on the moving sidewalk?
(3) How fast does a person move who is walking in the airport (not on a moving sidewalk)?
(4) Mr. P observed a youngster who was walking the wrong way on the moving sidewalk (where are the parents?). It took the youngster
2 minutes to walk the entire length of the walkway the wrong way, but then when he turned around and walked with the walkway, it
only took him 24 seconds. How long was the moving walkway?
Send your solution by the end of the month to:
David Pleacher