If the headway on a certain track is 5 minutes, how many trains can run per hour?

To determine how many trains can run per hour given a headway of 5 minutes, it is important to understand the relationship between headway and the frequency of trains.

Headway refers to the time interval between successive trains on the same track. If the headway is 5 minutes, this means that after one train departs, it takes 5 minutes before the next train can safely depart.

To calculate the number of trains that can operate in one hour, you can convert the hour into minutes since headway is expressed in minutes. There are 60 minutes in an hour.

Next, divide the total time in an hour (60 minutes) by the headway (5 minutes):

60 minutes / 5 minutes per train = 12 trains.

This calculation clearly shows that with a headway of 5 minutes, 12 trains can depart within one hour, which confirms that the answer is indeed correct.