Problema Solution
2 planes leave an airport at the same time. One fly's east and one fly's west. Eastbound plane travels 120mph slower. They are 3600 miles apart after 5 hours. Find the speed of each plane.
Answer provided by our tutors
let
v = the speed of the eastbound plane
v + 120 = the speed of the westbound plane
d = 3600 mi is the distance between the planes after 5 hours
t = 5 hr the time of the flight
since speed = distance/time => distance = speed*time
v*t + (v + 120)*t = d
v*5 + (v + 120)*5 = 3600
by solving we find
v = 300 mph
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300 + 120 = 420 mph
the speed of the eastbound plane is 300 mph while the speed of the westbound plane is 420 mph.