Problema Solution
A motorboat takes 5 hours to travel 200 mi going upstream. The return trip takes 4 hours going downstream. What is the rate of the boat in still water and what is the rate of the current?
Answer provided by our tutors
distance = speed * time
let 'c' represent the cost of the current and let 's' represent the speed of the boat, so upstream speed is represented by (s-c), as the current slows the speed down, and the downstream speed is represented by (s+c), as the current increases the speed
the following system of equations represents the situation:
200=(s-c)5
200=(s+c)4
click here to solve the system of equations
s=45
c=5
The rate of the boat in still water is 45 mph and the rate of the current is 5 mph.