Problema Solution
John and Tony start from the same place at the same time and head for a town 10 miles away. John walks twice as fast as Tony and arrives 3 hours before Tony. Find the speed of each.
Answer provided by our tutors
Let
v1 = the speed of John
v2 = the speed of Tony
t1 = the walking time of John
t2 = the walking time of Tony
d = 10 miles the walking distance
v1 = 2*v2 (John walks twice as fast as Tony)
t2 = t1 + 3 (John arrives 3 hours before tony)
speed = distance / time
v1 = 10/t1 => t1 = 10/v1
v2 = 10/t2 => t2 = 10/v2
Thus we have the system of equations
v1 = 2*v2
10/v2 = 10/v1 + 3
by solving it
10/v2 = 10/(2*v2) + 3 multiply both sides by v2
10 = 5 + 3*v2
v2 = 5/3 mph = 1.67 mph approximately
v1 = 10/3 mph = 3.33 mph approximately
The speed of John is 1.67 mph approximately.
The speed of Tony is 3.33 mph approximately.