SOLUTION: On Monday, tom drove to town at 60mph. On Tuesday, he drove to town at 40mph If the total drive time for both days was 15 hours, how far was it to town

Algebra ->  Polynomials-and-rational-expressions -> SOLUTION: On Monday, tom drove to town at 60mph. On Tuesday, he drove to town at 40mph If the total drive time for both days was 15 hours, how far was it to town      Log On


   

Question 1169140: On Monday, tom drove to town at 60mph. On Tuesday, he drove to town at 40mph
If the total drive time for both days was 15 hours, how far was it to town
Found 2 solutions by ikleyn, greenestamps:
Answer by ikleyn(52915) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.

Let d be the distance to town.


Then from the condition, you have this time equation


    d%2F60 + d%2F40 = 15 hours.


To solve it, multiply both sides by 120.  You will get


    2d + 3d = 120*15

      5d    = 120*15

       d    = %28120%2A15%29%2F5 = 129*3 = 360.


ANSWER.  The distance to the town is  360 miles.

Solved.



Answer by greenestamps(13216) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


Here is a completely different option for solving this kind of problem than the algebraic solution shown by the other tutor.

The ratio of speeds is 3:2; since the distances are the same, the amounts of time are in the ratio 2:3.

A ratio of 2:3 in times, with a total time of 15 hours, means 6 hours at one rate and 9 hours at the other rate.

The distance to the town is 6 hours at 60 mph = 360 miles, or 9 hours at 40 mph = 360 miles.