SOLUTION: Sue can walk 1km/h faster than John. She completes 20km hike 1 hour before him. What are their walking speeds

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Travel -> SOLUTION: Sue can walk 1km/h faster than John. She completes 20km hike 1 hour before him. What are their walking speeds      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 1071979: Sue can walk 1km/h faster than John. She completes 20km hike 1 hour before him. What are their walking speeds
Answer by ikleyn(52921) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.
The governing equation is

20%2F%28s-1%29+-20%2Fs = 1,

where "s" is Sue rate, im mph.

(s-1) is John's rate.


You need to solve the equation for "s".


The first step is to multiply both sides of (*) by s*(s-1).
Then simplify and solve the quadratic equation.


Answer.  s = 5 mph (Sue), (s-1) = 4 mph (John).