Question

I'm having a little trouble with this problem...
Please try and walk me through the problem, too:

#1. A motorboat leaves a dock and travels at an average speed of 15 mi/h toward an island. The average speed on the return trip is 10 mi/h. How far is the island from the harbor if the total trip takes five hours?

#2. A car traveling at 88 km/h overtakes a bus traveling at 64 km/h. If the bus has a 1.5 hour head start, how far from the starting point does the car overtake the bus?

#3. A car and a bus leave the same time from the same place headed in the same direction. The average speed of the car is 30 mi/h slower than twice the speed of the bus. In 2 hours, the car is 20 mi ahead of the bus. Find the rate of the car.

Thank you so much! Any help is appreciated!

Answer 1

I count three problems.

#2. The bus starts out 64 x 1.5 = 96 km ahead and after the car starts, the distance between them decreases at a rate of 88-64 = 24 km/h.

Divide 96 km by 24 km/h for the answer, in hours.

Try the others yourself and someone will gladly critique your work.

Answer 2

#1) x=distance to the harbor
15mph/x + 10mph/x = 5 hrs

25mph/x=5hrs

25mph=5hrs(x)

x=5 miles

Answer 3

Just wondering... how did you get the x to the other side? And how did you get rid of the 25mph?

Thanks!