Question 1194880

A motorboat can maintain a constant speed of 46 miles per hour relative to the water.  The boat makes a trip upstream to a certain point in 48 ​minutes; the return trip takes 44 minutes.  What is the speed of the​ current
<pre>Let speed of current be C
Then overall upstream and downstream speeds are 46 - C, and 46 + C, respectively 
We then get the following DISTANCE equation: {{{matrix(2,3, (48/60) * (46 - C), "=", (44/60) * (46 + C), (12/15) * (46 - C), "=", (11/15) * (46 + C))}}} 
                                               12(46 - C) = 11(46 + C) ------ Denominators are equal and so are the numerators
                                             12(46) - 12C = 11(46) + 11C
                                          12(46) - 11(46) = 11C + 12C
                                                    1(46) = 23C
                                   Current's speed, or {{{highlight_green(matrix(1,6, C, "=", 46/23, "=", 2, mph))}}}</pre>