SOLUTION: A tug tows a bard 24 miles up a river at 10mph and returns down the river at 12 mph. The entire trip takes 5.5 hours. What is the rate of the river's current? Since this problem

Question 214879: A tug tows a bard 24 miles up a river at 10mph and returns down the river at 12 mph. The entire trip takes 5.5 hours. What is the rate of the river's current?
Since this problem doesn't provide the elapsed time of each trip, I am having trouble setting it up.
Answer by josmiceli(19441) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
I'll write 2 equations, 1 for upriver
and 1 for downriver.

and

Let the rate of the river's current =
Let = the rate of the boat in still water
given:
mi
mi
mi/hr
mi/hr
hr
--------------------------

and

From these,

Let
Let
and

So,

mi/hr
The rate of the current is 1 mi/hr
check answer:

mi/hr
and

mi/hr
OK

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