SOLUTION: if a plane can travel 450 miles per hour with the wind and 410 miles per hour against the wind, find the speed of the plan in still air.

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Question 407095: if a plane can travel 450 miles per hour with the wind and 410 miles per hour against the wind, find the speed of the plan in still air.
Answer by richard1234(7193) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let R%5Bp%5D be the speed of the plane and R%5Bw%5D be the speed of the wind. Then, the speed of the plane with the tail wind is given by

450+=+R%5Bp%5D+%2B+R%5Bw%5D, and the speed of the plane with the head wind is given by

410+=+R%5Bp%5D+%2B+R%5Bw%5D. Adding the two equations, we get

860+=+2R%5Bp%5D --> R%5Bp%5D+=+430 (mi/hr).