The Bartlett family is taking a road trip to Yellowstone National Park! Yesterday, they drove a total of 550 miles in 11 hours. Today, they will drive another 200 miles and arrive at the park.

Question

If the Bartletts drive at the same average rate, how long will they drive today?

Answer 1

To determine how long the Bartlett family will drive today, we first need to calculate their average driving speed from yesterday's trip.

1. Calculate the average speed: \[ \text{Average speed} = \frac{\text{Total distance}}{\text{Total time}} = \frac{550 \text{ miles}}{11 \text{ hours}} = 50 \text{ miles per hour} \]

2. Determine the distance they will drive today: The Bartlett family will drive 200 miles today.

3. Calculate the time it will take to drive today at the same average speed: Using the formula for time, \[ \text{Time} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Speed}} \] we can plug in the values: \[ \text{Time} = \frac{200 \text{ miles}}{50 \text{ miles per hour}} = 4 \text{ hours} \]

Therefore, the Bartlett family will drive for 4 hours today.