Alice took 60 minutes to complete a task on her first trial. The time (May 2023 U.S.)

Correct answer: C. 39.
To solve this problem, we need to find the pattern of the time decrease and then calculate the time for the fifth trial.

Given information:
Alice took 60 minutes to complete the task on the first trial.
The time it took Alice to complete the task decreased by 10% of the previous time for each additional trial.

Let's calculate the time for each trial:
Trial 1: 60 minutes
Trial 2: 60 - (60 × 0.10) = 54 minutes
Trial 3: 54 - (54 × 0.10) = 48.6 minutes
Trial 4: 48.6 - (48.6 × 0.10) = 43.74 minutes
Trial 5: 43.74 - (43.74 × 0.10) = 39.37 minutes

Therefore, the approximate time it will take Alice to complete the task on her fifth trial is 39 minutes.