the speed of the current in Puget Sound is 5 mph. A barge travels with the current 26 miles and returns in 10 and 2/3 hours. what is its speed in still water?
2 answers
Unclear. Is 10 2/3 hours the total time or just the return time?
x=speed of boat in still water.
assuming the problem implies 26 miles each way.
to figure this out, I wrote this out in simple miles per hour terms. Example:
(hours/mile)*miles + (hours/mile)*miles = hours
so:
(1/(x+5))*26+(1/(x-5))*26=10.6
x+5 represents the speed of the boat traveling with the current
x-5 represents the speed of the boat traveling against the current
Hopefully this gets you far enough to come up with about 8 miles per hour.
assuming the problem implies 26 miles each way.
to figure this out, I wrote this out in simple miles per hour terms. Example:
(hours/mile)*miles + (hours/mile)*miles = hours
so:
(1/(x+5))*26+(1/(x-5))*26=10.6
x+5 represents the speed of the boat traveling with the current
x-5 represents the speed of the boat traveling against the current
Hopefully this gets you far enough to come up with about 8 miles per hour.