SOLUTION: A tugboat takes 1 2/3 times as long to go 100 miles upstream along the Mississippi River as it does to return. If the speed of the current of the Mississippi River is 2 miles per

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Question 1199662: A tugboat takes 1 2/3 times as long to go 100 miles upstream along the
Mississippi River as it does to return. If the speed of the current of the Mississippi River is 2 miles per hour, find the speed of the tugboat in still water.

Answer by greenestamps(13198) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


Let x be the speed in mph of the tugboat in still water; then its upstream speed is x-2 and its downstream speed is x+2.

The ratio of the downstream and upstream speeds is (1 2/3):1 = 5:3.

The distances (rate times time) are the same, so

5%28x-2%29=3%28x%2B2%29
5x-10=3x%2B6
2x=16
x=8

ANSWER: 8mph