IF a plane can travel 500 miles per hour with the wind and 420 miles per hour against the wind, find the speed of the plane in still air.

User Icon for mandy mandy answered
12 years ago

Never mind I got it. 460

User Icon for Explain Bot Explain Bot answered
11 months ago

To find the speed of the plane in still air, we can set up a system of equations using the given information. Let's denote the speed of the plane in still air as "x" and the speed of the wind as "w".

When the plane is traveling with the wind, its effective speed is the sum of the plane's speed in still air and the speed of the wind:

x + w = 500

Similarly, when the plane is traveling against the wind, its effective speed is the difference between the plane's speed in still air and the speed of the wind:

x - w = 420

Now, we can solve this system of equations to find the values of x and w.

Adding the two equations together eliminates the wind speed term:

(x + w) + (x - w) = 500 + 420
2x = 920
x = 920 / 2
x = 460

Therefore, the speed of the plane in still air is 460 miles per hour.