<PRE><B>Question 275564</B>
The distance cannot be negative so I guess your work is questionable.
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A car travels from one town to another at a speed of 32 mph. If it had gone 4 mph faster, it could have made the trip in 1/2 hr less time. How far apart are the towns?
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Early DATA:
rate = 32 mph ; distance = x miles; time = d/r = x/32 hrs
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New DATA:
rate = 36 mph ; distance = x miles ; time = d/r = x/36 hrs
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Equation:
old time - new time = 1/2 hr
(x/32) - (x/36) = 1/2
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Simplify the left side to get:
(36x-32x)/32*36 = 1/2
4x = (32*36)/2
x = (9*16) 
x = 144 miles (distance apart)
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Cheers,
Stan H. 
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