Austin went to the science museum. He was there for 2 hours. He spent $\frac{3}{5}$ of his time doing experiments. Then, he spent $\frac{1}{3}$ of his time at the water station. Finally, he spent the rest of his time looking at skeletons. How long did Austin spend looking at skeletons? Show all your work, and express your answer as a number of minutes and as a fraction of an hour.

Verified Answer :

  • The total time spent at the museum is 2 hours, which is 120 minutes.
  • Time spent on experiments is \(\frac{3}{5} \times 120 = 72\) minutes.
  • Time spent at the water station is \(\frac{1}{3} \times 120 = 40\) minutes.
  • The remaining time for skeletons is \(120 - 72 - 40 = 8\) minutes, which corresponds to \(\frac{8}{60} = \frac{2}{15}\) of an hour.
  • Austin spent \(\boxed{8 \text{ minutes}}\) or \(\boxed{\frac{2}{15} \text{ of an hour}}\) looking at skeletons.

Explanation

  1. Analyzing the Problem

Austin spent a total of 2 hours at the science museum. To find out how much time he spent on each activity and ultimately on looking at skeletons, we first need to define the time allocated to experiments and the water station. Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, his total time in minutes is 2 hours × 60 minutes/hour = 120 minutes.

  1. Calculating Time Spent on Experiments and Water Station

Austin spent \(\frac{3}{5}\) of his total time on experiments. Calculating this in minutes, we have \(\frac{3}{5} \times 120 = 72\) minutes. In terms of hours, this is \(\frac{3}{5} \times 2 = 1.2\) hours. Next, he spent \(\frac{1}{3}\) of his total time at the water station. In minutes, this is \(\frac{1}{3} \times 120 = 40\) minutes. In terms of hours, this is \(\frac{1}{3} \times 2 = \frac{2}{3}\) hours.

  1. Calculating Time Spent on Skeletons

To find the time spent looking at skeletons, we subtract the time spent on experiments and the water station from the total time. In minutes, this is 120 - (72 + 40) = 120 - 112 = 8 minutes. In hours, this is 2 - (1.2 + \frac{2}{3}) = 2 - (\frac{6}{5} + \frac{2}{3}) = 2 - (\frac{18}{15} + \frac{10}{15}) = 2 - \frac{28}{15} = \frac{30}{15} - \frac{28}{15} = \frac{2}{15} hours. Therefore, Austin spent 8 minutes or \(\frac{2}{15}\) of an hour looking at skeletons.

Examples

Understanding how to partition time is a valuable skill in daily life, such as planning a study session or managing tasks during a workday. For example, if you have a 3-hour study block and want to dedicate specific fractions of it to different subjects (like \(\frac{1}{2}\) for math and \(\frac{1}{3}\) for history), you can use this same subtraction method to determine exactly how much time remains for other activities, ensuring you manage your schedule effectively.