GreenlightTestPrep wrote:
Joe regularly drives the 400 miles from A-ville to B-town at the same constant speed of r miles per hour. If Joe drives 30 mph faster than usual, it takes him 3 fewer hours to complete the trip. What is the value of r? 
Let's start with a 
word equation.
In this question, we're comparing trips when Joe drives at his REGULAR speed with a HYPOTHETICAL trip at a faster speed
The question tells us that the HYPOTHETICAL trip takes 3 fewer hours than the REGULAR trip.
So, we can write: 
(time to complete REGULAR trip) - (time to complete HYPOTHETICAL trip) = 3 hoursIf Joe's REGULAR speed is 
r miles per hour, then his HYPOTHETICAL speed must be 
r + 30time = distance/speedSo we can substitute values into our word equation to get: 
400/r - 400/(r + 30) = 3Multiply both sides of the equation by r to get: 
400 - 400r/(r+30) = 3rMultiply both sides of the equation by r + 30 to get: 
400(r + 30) - 400r = 3r(r+30)Expand both sides: 
400r + 12,000 - 400r = 3r² +90r Simplify the left side: 
12,000 = 3r² +90r Subtract 12,000 from both sides: 
0 = 3r² +90r - 12,000Divide both sides by 3 to get: 
0 = r² +30r - 4,000Factor: 
0 = (r + 80)(r - 50)So, EITHER 
r = -80 OR 
r = 50Since Bob's speed can't be negative, the correct answer is r = 50
Answer: 50