SOLUTION: Ricky drove from Town A to Town B in 3 hours. His return trip from Town B to Town A took 5 hours because he drove 15 miles per hour slower on the return trip. How fast did Ricky dr

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Question 810772: Ricky drove from Town A to Town B in 3 hours. His return trip from Town B to Town A took 5 hours because he drove 15 miles per hour slower on the return trip. How fast did Ricky drive on the trip from Town A to Town B?
Please explain step by step how you get the answer, I am having a really hard time grasping distance problems. I know d=rt. I was thinking something like 3x and 5x-15, but I'm not sure how to set it up. PLEASE help me. And any tips you have for distance problems would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. :)
Found 2 solutions by richwmiller, stanbon:
Answer by richwmiller(17219) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
already answered

Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Ricky drove from Town A to Town B in 3 hours. His return trip from Town B to Town A took 5 hours because he drove 15 miles per hour slower on the return trip. How fast did Ricky drive on the trip from Town A to Town B?
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A to B DATA:
time = 3 hrs ; rate = x mph ; distance = r*t = 3x miles
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B to A DATA:
time = 5 hrs ; rate = x-15 mph ; distance = r*t = 5(x-15) = 5x-75 miles
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Equation:
distance = distance
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3x = 5x-75
2x = 75
x = 37.5 mph (rate from A to B)
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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