GeminiHeat wrote:
A boat traveled upstream 90 miles at an average speed of (v-3) miles per hour and then traveled the same distance downstream at an average speed of (v+3) miles per hour. If the trip upstream took a half hour longer than the trip downstream, then how many hours did it take the boat to travel downstream?
A. 2.5
B. 2.4
C. 2.3
D. 2.2
E. 2.1
I like to begin with a "
word equation."
We can write:
travel time upstream =
travel time downstream + 1/2
Time = distance/rate
So, we can replace elements in our word equation to get:
90/(v-3) =
90/(v+3) + 1/2
Now solve for v (lots of work here)
.
.
.
v =
33So, travel time downstream =
90/(v+3)=
90/(33+3)=
90/36=
5/2=
2 1/2 hoursAnswer: A
Cheers,
Brent