Question 552824
Conner is camping along a river. It takes him 1.5 hours to paddle his canoe 6 miles upstream from his campsite. Conner turns his canoe around and returns 6 miles downstream to his campsite in exactly 1 hour. What is the rate of the river's current and the rate of conner's paddling in still water?
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Upstream DATA:
time = 1.5 hrs ; distance = 6 miles ; rate = d/t = 6/1.5 = 4 mph
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Downstream DATA:
distance = 6 miles ; time = 1 mr ; rate = d/t = 6/1 = 6 mph
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Equations:
Upstream::: b - c = 4 mph
Downstream  b + c = 6 mph
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Add and solve for "b":
2b = 10 mph
b = 5 mph (speed of the boat in still water)
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Solve for "c":
b + c = 6
5 + c = 6
c = 1 mph (speed of the current)
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Cheers,
stan H.