How far will an aircraft travel in 2-1/2 minutes with a groundspeed of 98 knots?

To determine how far an aircraft will travel in a given time with a specific groundspeed, you can use the formula that relates distance, speed, and time:

Distance = Speed × Time.

In this case, the aircraft's groundspeed is 98 knots, and the time is 2-1/2 minutes. First, it's important to convert the time from minutes to hours since ground speed in knots is measured in nautical miles per hour (NM/h).

2-1/2 minutes can be converted to hours as follows:

2.5 minutes ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 0.04167 hours.

Now, you can calculate the distance traveled by plugging the values into the formula:

Distance = 98 knots × 0.04167 hours ≈ 4.083 NM.

When rounded off, this value is approximately 4.08 nautical miles, which corresponds to the correct answer. Therefore, the calculation aligns with the understanding of how to convert time and use speed to find the traveled distance in aviation contexts.