document.write( "Question 249429: A man drives from home to work at a speed of 50mi/h. The return trip from work to home is traveled at the more leisurely pace of 30 mi/h. What is the man's average speed for the round trip?\r
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document.write( "(I know the answer is not 40mi/h though) \n" );
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Algebra.Com's Answer #181672 by oberobic(2304)![]() ![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! We know the basic formula for distance problems is: d = rt, where d=distance, r=rate, t=time. \n" ); document.write( "We know the man drives to work at 50 mph. \n" ); document.write( "We know he drives home at 30 mph. \n" ); document.write( "We know the distance is the same both ways. \n" ); document.write( "What we do not know are the times involved. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Let's assume he drives 30 miles to and from work. \n" ); document.write( "At 50 mph it takes him 30/50 or .6 of an hour to drive to work. .6*60 = 36 minutes \n" ); document.write( "At 30 mph it takes him 30/30 or 1 hr to drive home = 60 minutes \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "So the total elapsed time is 96 minutes to drive 60 miles. \n" ); document.write( "96 minutes = 1.6 hr \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Going back to d=rt \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "60 miles = r mph * 1.6 hr = 1.6r \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Dividing both sides by 1.6 \n" ); document.write( "37.5 = r \n" ); document.write( "r = 37.5 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Checking our work... \n" ); document.write( "How far will the car go in 1.6 hr at 37.5 mph? \n" ); document.write( "60 miles \n" ); document.write( "OK. \n" ); document.write( " |