SOLUTION: A motorcycle breaks down and the rider must walk the rest of the way to work. The motorcycle speed was 45 mph and the rider walks at 6 mph. The distance from home to work is 25 m

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Question 7480: A motorcycle breaks down and the rider must walk the rest of the way to work.
The motorcycle speed was 45 mph and the rider walks at 6 mph. The distance from home to work is 25 miles, that the total time for the trip was 2 hr. How far did the motorcycle go before it broke down?

Answer by Earlsdon(6103) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let the distance traveled by the motorcycle be x miles.
Then the distance traveled by the walker is (25 - x) miles.
Using the distance formuls: d+=+rt Distance = rate X time, then:
x+=+45%2At Distance traveled by the motorcycle and:
%2825-x%29+=+6%2A%282-t%29 Distance traveled by the walker.
Substitute x=45%2At into the second equation and solve for t.
%2825+-+45%2At%29+=+6%2A%282-t%29
25+-+45%2At+=+12+-+6%2At Subtract 12 from both sides.
13+-+45%2At+=+-6%2At Add 45t to both sides.
13+=+39%2At Divide both sides by 39.
t+=+13%2F39
t+=+1%2F3 hours.
Now we can find how far the motor cycle traveled before conking out (breaking down).
x+=+45%2At
x+=+45%281%2F3%29
+x+=+15 miles.