Asked by Brent

Suppose a boat has to make a round trip up and down a river. The trip up takes 1 hour and is with the current. The trip back takes 9 hours. Suppose the round trip is a total of 32 miles, and that the boat's speed and the speed of the current are constant. What is the boat's speed and what is the current's speed?

Answers

Answered by Reiny
Speed of boat with no current --- x mph
speed of current ----- y mph

Assuming 16 miles each way,

time with the current = 1 hr
16/(x+y) = 1
x+y = 16 ----> #1

time against the current = 9 hrs
16/(x-y) = 9
9x - 9y = 16----> 2

you now have two simple equations in 2 unknowns
Use your usual method solving these equations.
Hint: the speeds are not whole numbers
There are no AI answers yet. The ability to request AI answers is coming soon!

Related Questions