I blanked for a second and then just started anchoring on breaths per minute.
Break the problem into two parts: breaths per minute and minutes per day. Start with a reasonable estimate for breaths per minute at rest, then adjust for activity levels throughout the day, and finally multiply by the number of minutes in a day.
Pro tip: State your assumptions clearly and round numbers to make calculations easier. Acknowledge that this is a rough estimate and that the exact number may vary, but the process demonstrates structured thinking.
Confirm that the question asks for an average person over a full day, including all activities. This ensures you're solving the right problem.
Use a known baseline: average resting respiratory rate for adults is about 12-20 breaths per minute. Choose a round number like 15 for simplicity.
Break the day into segments (e.g., sleep, sedentary, light activity, exercise) and assign different breathing rates to each. For example, sleep: 12 bpm, sedentary: 15 bpm, exercise: 30 bpm.
Multiply the breathing rate for each segment by the hours spent in that segment, sum them up, and divide by 24 to get an average breaths per minute over the day.
Multiply the average breaths per minute by 1440 (minutes in a day) to get the total daily breaths. Round to a sensible number.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.