Question 1122468:  A boy rides away from home in an automobile at a rate of 28 miles per hour and walks back at a rate of 4 miles an hour.  The round trip requires 2 hours. How far does he ride? 
 Found 2 solutions by  greenestamps, Alan3354: Answer by greenestamps(13215)      (Show Source): 
You can  put this solution on YOUR website! 
  
Let x be the number of hours he rides away from home at 28 mph.
  
Then, since the speed of the automobile is 7 times his walking speed, the number of hours he spends walking is 7x.
  
Then the total time, which is 2 hours, is equal to x plus 7x, or 8x.
  
8x = 2  -->  x = 1/4
  
So the amount of time he spends in the automobile is x = 1/4 hour.
  
The distance he travels in 1/4 hour at 28 mph is 7 miles.
  
Answer: 7 miles 
 Answer by Alan3354(69443)      (Show Source): 
You can  put this solution on YOUR website! A boy rides away from home in an automobile at a rate of 28 miles per hour and walks back at a rate of 4 miles an hour.  The round trip requires 2 hours. How far does he ride? 
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Avg speed of the round trip = 2*28*4/(28+4) = 7 mi/hr 
RT = 7*2 = 14 miles 
--> 7 miles each way 
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The formula is similar to parallel flows, parallel work, parallel resistance, etc. 
Just a factor of 2 different. 
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I'm not a proponent of memorizing formulas in general, but this one is simple and similar to others. 
 
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