Problema Solution
A car and cyclist start at 10 a.m. from the same point, headed in the same direction. The average speed of the car is 5 mph more than three times the average speed of the cyclist. In 1.5 hours, the car is 46.5 miles ahead of the cyclist. Find the speed at which the cyclist is traveling. Please show all of your work.
Answer provided by our tutors
Let
v = the average speed of the cyclist
5 + 3v = the average speed of the car
t = 1.5 hr
Since distance = avg.speed*time and we know that the difference in the distances traveled is 46.5 miles we have:
(5 + 3v)*t - vt = 46.5
1.5(5 + 3v) - 1.5v = 46.5
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click here to see the equation solved for v
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v = 13 mph
The speed of the cyclist is 13 miles per hour.