SOLUTION: A Plane flies from Portland, ME to El Paso, TX with an average speed of 303mph. A car drives the same distance and leaves at the same time, averaging a speed of 50 mph. The

Algebra.Com
Question 61544: A Plane flies from Portland, ME to El Paso, TX with an average speed of
303mph. A car drives the same distance and leaves at the same time, averaging
a speed of 50 mph. The plane arrives in El Paso 35.42 hours before the car.
How far is it from Portland to El Paso?
Please Help
E

Found 2 solutions by asha, ptaylor:
Answer by asha(30)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
let the distance from Portland to El Paso be x miles
the speed of the plane is 303 m.p.h
the speed of the car is 50 m.p.h.
time taken by the plane to fly the distance is x/303 hrs.
time taken bythe car to travel the same distance is x/50 hrs.
but it is given that
x/50 -x/303 =35.42
x(1/50-1/303) =35.42
x(303-50)303*50=35.42
253*x =35.42*303*50
x=( 35.42*303*50)/253
= 2121 miles
you can check the answer by plugging in the values in the equation.
good luck !!!

Answer by ptaylor(2198)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let x=Distance from Portland to El Paso
Now the time it takes the plane to make the trip is the distance (x) divided by the rate (303 mph) and , likewise, the time it takes the car to make the trip is distance divided by rate which is (x) divided by 50 mph.
We know that the difference between these two times is 35.42 hours. Thus, the equation to solve is:
x/50-x/303=35.42 Lets clear the fractions by multiplying both sides of the equation by(50)(303). This gives us:
303x-50x=(35.42)(50)(303) simplifying, we get:
253x=536,613
x=2121 miles

Hope this helps------ptaylor



RELATED QUESTIONS

Please help me with this problem: A small airplane flies 810 miles from Los Angeles to... (answered by josmiceli,richwmiller)
A small plane flies 810 miles from Los Angeles to Portland, Or. with an average speed of... (answered by josgarithmetic,MathTherapy)
St. Louis and Portland are 2060 miles apart. A small plane leaves Portland traveling... (answered by ewatrrr)
Junior drove his rig on the Interstate 10 from San Antonio to El Paso. At the halfway... (answered by stanbon,ankor@dixie-net.com)
Jacob drove from St. Petersburg, Florida to Phoenix, Arizona, stopping in Baton Rouge,... (answered by stanbon)
A small airplane flies 750 miles with an average speed of 250 miles per hour. 1.75 hours... (answered by josgarithmetic,MathTherapy)
Assume you started your own airline company called Safety Air (motto: “Your probability... (answered by solver91311)
A small plane flies from Big Lake to Pine city everyday, with a 30min layover in... (answered by mananth)
Cabrina and Dabney are attending a conference. After the conference, Cabrina drives home... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)