Problema Solution

A pilot flew from an airport to another against a headwind of 20 milees per hour. The flight took 2 hours. He returned with a tailwind of 20 miles per hour in 1.8 hours. What distance did he fly and what was his airspeed?

Answer provided by our tutors

need two variables speed and distance s and d respectively

(s -20)*2 = d

(s+ 20)*1.8 = d

now we can sustitute the left hand side of eqn 1 into the left hand side of eqn 2

giving

(s-20)*2 = (s+20)*1.8

rearranging gives

2*s - 1.8*s = 20*(1.8+2)

.2*s = 20*3.8

s = 20*3.8/.2

s = 380

now using this we can solve eqn 1 for d

(380 - 20)*2 = d

360*2 = d

d = 720

so distance is 720 miles

and speed is 380 mph