Let's call the distance from Jimmy's house to school "d".
Using the formula distance = rate x time, we can set up two equations based on the given information:
d = 40(t + 5) (since Jimmy is 5 minutes late)
d = 60(t - 3) (since Jimmy is 3 minutes early)
We want to solve for "d", so let's eliminate the "t" variable by setting the two equations equal to each other:
40(t + 5) = 60(t - 3)
40t + 200 = 60t - 180
20t = 380
t = 19
Now that we know Jimmy's travel time is 19 minutes, we can plug that back into either equation to find the distance:
d = 40(19 + 5)
d = 960 meters
Therefore, the school is 960 meters away from Jimmy's house.