SOLUTION: Ashley left the hospital and drove towards the ocean. One hour later Cody left driving 10 mph faster in an effort to catch up to her. After five hours Cody finally caught up. Find

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Travel -> SOLUTION: Ashley left the hospital and drove towards the ocean. One hour later Cody left driving 10 mph faster in an effort to catch up to her. After five hours Cody finally caught up. Find       Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 999217: Ashley left the hospital and drove towards the ocean. One hour later Cody left driving 10 mph faster in an effort to catch up to her. After five hours Cody finally caught up. Find Ashley's average speed.
Answer by josgarithmetic(39620) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
           rate         time      distance
Ashley      r           5+1        d
Cody       r+10          5         d

You should be able to understand the meanings of the numbers and variables and how they conform to the description. Study those for a couple of minutes to understand well.

The time quantities are wordy but well enough specified and are not variable.
Basic rule RT=D lets us make the system of equations:
system%28r%2A6=d%2C%28r%2B10%29%2A5=d%29

Simple substitution, or just equate the two expressions for d.
r%2A6=%28r%2B10%29%2A5
r%2A6=5r%2B50
6r-5r=50
highlight%28r=50%29