Asked by Skyler

An airplane cruises at 880km/h relative to the air. It is flying from Denver, Colorado due west to Reno, Neveda, a distance of 1200km and will then return. There is a steady 90km/h wind blowing to the east. What is the difference in flight time between the two legs of the trip?
Answered by Skylar
is this just out of curiosity or is it a real question. I live in reno Nevada so mabe I can help. MAYBE
Answered by Skyler
Its a real question from my physics class that I've been struggling with for like an hour and a half. I know the original time without the wind blowing would be 1200/880 but I can't figure out what to do after that to include the wind.
Answered by herp_derp
Let's remember the basic distance formula:

d = vt

As we know, the distance for both flights is 1200 km.
1200 = v₁t₁
1200 = v₂t₂

The airplane cruises at 880 km/h with AND against a 90 km/h wind.
1200 = (880 - 90)t₁
1200 = (880 + 90)t₂

From there, you can find the times
t₁ = 120/79 ≈ 1.52 h
t₂ = 120/97 ≈ 1.24 h

Therefore, the difference between the flight times is
1.52 - 1.24 = 0.28 h
Answered by Skyler
Thank you so very much I was doing it right the entire time I was just not converting my answer back to minutes like it was asking! Greatly appreciate it!
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