Problema Solution

When Fritz drives to work his trip takes 36 minutes, but when he takes the train it takes 20 minutes. Find the distance Fritz travels to work if the train travels an average of 32 miles per hour faster than his driving.

Answer provided by our tutors

let 'v' represent the speed Fritz drives, then 'v+32' represents the speed of the train


distance = speed * time


36 minutes = 36/60 hours

20 minutes = 20/60 hours


the distance is the same in both cases, so we set the speed * time expressions equal to each other:

(36/60)v = (20/60)(v+32)

solving for 'v' we have v=40


so Fritz drives 40mph in 36 minutes, a distance of:

40*(36/60)=24.


the distance is 24 miles