Problema Solution
Larry's time to travel 371 miles is 3 hours more than Terrell's time to travel 220 miles. Terrell drove 2 miles per hour faster than Larry. How fast did each one travel?
Answer provided by our tutors
let
v1 = the speed of Larry
d1 = 371 miles the distance Larry traveled
t1 = the time of Larry's travel
v2 = the speed of Terrell
d2 = 220 miles the distance Terrell traveled
t2 = the time of Terrel's travel
Larry's time to travel 371 miles is 3 hours more than Terrell's time to travel 220 miles
t1 = 3 + t2
Terrell drove 2 miles per hour faster than Larry
v2 = 2 + v1
we also know that speed = distance/time => time = distance/speed
t1 = d1/v1 = 371/v1
t2 = d2/v2 = 220/v2
plugin this values in t1 = 3 + t2 we get
371/v1 = 3 + 220/v2 multiply both sides by v1v2
371v2 = 3v1v2 + 220v1
and replace v2 = 2 + v1 in the above equations
371(2 + v1) = 3v1(2 + v1) + 220v1
solving the quadratic equation
click here to see the step by step solution of the equations
we find and consider only the positive roots since v1 > 0
v1 = 53 mph
v2 = 2 + v1 = 2 + 53 = 55
v2 = 55 mph
Larry traveled with 53 mph while Terrell traveled with 55 mph.