SOLUTION: I am responsible for defending two bicycle cyclists who have been accused of “speeding.” I
say “speeding” because in one of these towns the law is quite peculiar. A tram runs from
Algebra ->
Customizable Word Problem Solvers
-> Travel
-> SOLUTION: I am responsible for defending two bicycle cyclists who have been accused of “speeding.” I
say “speeding” because in one of these towns the law is quite peculiar. A tram runs from
Log On
Question 733323: I am responsible for defending two bicycle cyclists who have been accused of “speeding.” I
say “speeding” because in one of these towns the law is quite peculiar. A tram runs from the valley of East
Gausston to the city center of Eulerberg. The travel time from the valley to the city is 40 minutes and a tram
leaves on the hour every hour between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. The law here states that no vehicles (including
bicycles) can make the trip from East Gausston to Eulerberg in less time than it takes the tram. (Some
suspect that the city council is acting to protect the financial interests of Big Tram). These are the facts
of the case: My client was invited to Eulerberg to receive an award for her community service efforts. She
left her home in East Gausston in the afternoon on her bicycle. Her bicycle is equipped with a speedometer.
For the first 5 km she travelled on constant rate of 25 km/hour, then she came to a hill where her speed
immediately dropped to a constant rate of 15 km/hour as she climbed the 5 km hill. After she reached the
top she was able to ride at a constant rate of 35 km/hour for the final 5 km to the city center. During her
acceptance speech she showed the group the readings from her speedometer to illustrate that bicycling is a
fantastic alternative to driving. After the party she was ticketed for speeding by a local official. He asserts
that her average speed was 25 km/hour (averaging her three speeds) and therefore, that it must have taken
her 36 minutes to traverse the 15 km from her house to the city center. Since this is less than the 40 minutes
the tram takes, she is guilty of speeding. My client says that the trip actually took just over 40 minutes.
How can this be? Please help me to provide an airtight defense or tell me if I should take the plea deal
instead. I either need to convince the local jurist that she did not speed or convince her that I know she did. Answer by josmiceli(19441) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! You cannot take an average of average speeds to get
a combined average.
average speed = ( total distance ) / ( total time )
For the first 5 km she travelled on constant rate of 25 km/hour hr
Then she traveled at constant rate of 15 km/hour as she climbed the 5 km hill hr
She rode down the hill at a constant rate of 35 km/hour for the 5 km trip to the city center. hr
-------------
Total distance traveled was km
Total time for trip was hrs
The total time for the trip was hrs min
The is more than the 40 min for the tram, so she wasn't speeding
