SOLUTION: A boat can travel 16 mi/hr in still water. If the boat can travel 5 mi downstream in the same time it takes to travel 3 mi upstream, what is the rate of the river’s current?
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Question 374999: A boat can travel 16 mi/hr in still water. If the boat can travel 5 mi downstream in the same time it takes to travel 3 mi upstream, what is the rate of the river’s current?
Answer by solver91311(24713) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
We know that distance equals rate times time. But that also means that time is equal to distance divided by rate. Since the current adds to the rate of the boat going down stream and subtracts going upstream, we can write an expression that represents the time going either way.
and
Where 
is the time for each trip and 
is the rate of the current.
Cross-multiply, collect terms, and solve for
John
My calculator said it, I believe it, that settles it
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