SOLUTION: Two canoeists paddle 10km upstream in 5 hours. They make the return trip in only 1 hour. Assuming that the canoeists paddle at a constant rate, what is the speed of the current?

Question 934655: Two canoeists paddle 10km upstream in 5 hours. They make the return trip in only 1 hour. Assuming that the canoeists paddle at a constant rate, what is the speed of the current?
Found 2 solutions by TimothyLamb, lwsshak3:
Answer by TimothyLamb(4379) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
x = speed of canoe in still water
y = speed of current
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s = d/t
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upstream:
x - y = 10/5
x - y = 2
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downstream:
x + y = 10/1
x + y = 10
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put the system of linear equations into standard form
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x - y = 2
x + y = 10
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copy and paste the above standard form linear equations in to this solver:
https://sooeet.com/math/system-of-linear-equations-solver.php
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solution:
x = speed of canoe in still water = 6 kph
y = speed of current = 4 kph
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Answer by lwsshak3(11628) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Two canoeists paddle 10km upstream in 5 hours. They make the return trip in only 1 hour. Assuming that the canoeists paddle at a constant rate, what is the speed of the current?
***
let x=speed of canoe in still water
let c=speed of current
(x+c) speed of canoe downstream
(x-c) speed of canoe upstream
travel time*speed=distance
..
5(x-c)=10
1(x+c)=10
..
5x-5c=10
x+c=10
..
5x-5c=10
5x+5c=50 (mult. eq. by 5)
subtract
10c=40
c=4
speed of current=4 km/hr
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