SOLUTION: Jessie recently drove to visit her parents who live 540 miles away. On her way there her average speed was 11 miles per hour faster than on her way home (she ran into some bad weat

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Travel -> SOLUTION: Jessie recently drove to visit her parents who live 540 miles away. On her way there her average speed was 11 miles per hour faster than on her way home (she ran into some bad weat      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


   



Question 975804: Jessie recently drove to visit her parents who live 540 miles away. On her way there her average speed was 11 miles per hour faster than on her way home (she ran into some bad weather). If Jessie spent a total of 18 hours driving, find the two rates
Answer by lwsshak3(11628) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Jessie recently drove to visit her parents who live 540 miles away. On her way there her average speed was 11 miles per hour faster than on her way home (she ran into some bad weather). If Jessie spent a total of 18 hours driving, find the two rates
***
let x=speed on the way home
x+11=speed on the way to visit her parents
travel time=distance/speed
540%2Fx%2B540%2F%28x%2B11%29=18
lcd: x(x+11).
..
540(x+11)+540x=18(x^2+11x)
540x+5940+540x=18x^2+198x
18x^2-882x-5940=0
divide by 18:
x^2-49x-330=0
(x+6)(x-55)=0
x=55
x+11=66
speed on the way home=55 mph
speed on the way to visit her parents = 66 mph