SOLUTION: Medicine Hat & Cranbrook are 300 Km apart. Steve rides his Harley 20 Km per hr faster than Bob rides his Yamaha. Find Steve's average rate if he travels from Cranbrook to Medicine

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Travel -> SOLUTION: Medicine Hat & Cranbrook are 300 Km apart. Steve rides his Harley 20 Km per hr faster than Bob rides his Yamaha. Find Steve's average rate if he travels from Cranbrook to Medicine       Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 811298: Medicine Hat & Cranbrook are 300 Km apart. Steve rides his Harley 20 Km per hr faster than Bob rides his Yamaha. Find Steve's average rate if he travels from Cranbrook to Medicine Hat in 1.25 hr less time than Bob?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39620) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Person____________speed_____________time______________distance
Steve_____________r+20______________x-1.25____________300
Bob_______________r_________________x_________________300

We do not know Bob's speed, r and we do not know Bob's time, x. We only know their distance to travel. Use uniform rate R*T=D, and D is the same for both Steve and Bob.

%28r%2B20%29%28x-1.25%29=300 and r%2Ax=300

rx%2Br%28-1.25%29%2B20x%2B20%2A%28-1.25%29=300
rx-1.25r%2B20x-25=300
Seeing the equality of rx and 300, we can subtract either from both sides to simplify this equation to -1.25r%2B20x-25=0
'
We now have the simpler system, 1.25r-20x%2B25=0 and rx=300
'
Solve the rx equation for x and substitute:
x=300/r
giving one equation in only r: highlight%281.25r-20%28300%2Fr%29%2B25=0%29-----take it from there.