SOLUTION: I drove to my parents house at 60 miles per hour. If I had driven 50 miles an hour instead, then I would have gotten there 40 minutes later. How many miles did I drive?

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Question 766841: I drove to my parents house at 60 miles per hour. If I had driven 50 miles an hour instead, then I would have gotten there 40 minutes later. How many miles did I drive?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39620) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let x = time in hours for the 60 mph trip.

PLEASE NOTE: Time units for this table are in hours. There are 60 minutes in 1 hour; 40 minutes is 40/60 hours, or 2/3 hour.

TRIP____________speed______time___________distance
Actual___________60________x______________60x
Hypothetical_____50_______x+40/60_________50(x+2/3)

The distances are equal.
highlight%2860x=50%28x%2B2%2F3%29%29
Solve for x, in hours. Change result to minutes or mixed units if desired.


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3%261%2F3 hours, 3 hours and 20 minutes.
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EDIT: Knowing x=3%261%2F3 hours, we can find distance of the trip, 60x=60%2A3%261%2F3=highlight%28200%29 miles.