Question

Logistics (shipping) by sea routes is a significant commercial activity. Container ships travel at an average speed of about 23 knots, whereas a higher ship speed would involve a disproportionately high fuel consumption. Calculate the time required (in days and hours) for a container ship to travel from the Port of Shanghai (China) to the Port of Los Angeles (USA) (Distance:22,142 miles; 1 nautical mile=6067 feet; 1 knot=1 nautical mile per hour).

Answer 1

1 knot = 1 nautical mile,therefore average speed of a ship is 23 nautical miles per hour. Since the distance between the two ports is in miles, it would be better if the speed of ship is also converted into miles per hour.

23 nautical miles= 23* 6067 ft

=139541 / 3 yards

= 139541/(3*1760) miles

The speed of the ship is therefore 139541/5280 miles per hour

Time taken to cover 22142 miles would be distance/ speed = 22142*5280/ 139541 hours

=838 hours approx (rounded to the nearest digit)

Now dividing 837 by 24 gives a quotient of 34 and a remainder of 22.

Therefore time required to travel the distance would be 34 days and 22 hrs

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