Question 139819
A cyclist traveled at a rate of 24 mi/h to visit a nearby town . The cyclist averaged 18 mi/h on the return trip. If the round trip took 4.9 hours, find the one way distance to the nearby town.
:
Let d = distance to town
:
Write a time equation: Time = dist/speed
:
Time to + time back = 4.9 hrs
{{{d/24}}} + {{{d/18}}} = 4.9
Multiply equation by 432 (18*24) to get rid of the denominators:
432*{{{d/24}}} + 432*{{{d/18}}} = 432*4.9
Cancel the denominators and you have:
18d + 24d = 2116.8
:
42d = 2116.8
d = {{{2116.8/42}}}
d = 50.4 miles
:
:
Check solution:
50.4/24 + 50.4/18 =
2.1 + 2.8 = 4.9