Question 1
A trucker handed in a ticket at a toll booth showing that in 3 hours he had covered 220 miles on a toll road with speed limit 65 mph. The trucker was cited for speeding. Why?Question 2
A marathoner ran the 26.2 mile New York City Marathon in 2.3 hrs. Did the runner ever exceed a speed of 9 miles per hour?Answer 1
As the trucker's average speed was 73 mph, the Mean Value Theorem implies that the trucker must have been going that speed at least once during the trip.Answer 2
Yes, the Mean Value Theorem implies that the runner attained a speed of 11.4 mph, which was her average speed throughout the marathon.