Problema Solution

you are traveling to an island that is accesible only by boat. you plan to take one boat there and a different boat back. You'll be traveling on the steamboat and the yacht. The steamboat makes the trip in 5 hours. The yacht makes the trip in 2.5 hours. The yacht is 20 knots faster than the steamboat. For each boat, the trip time multiplied by the speed equals the distance traveled. You know both boats will travel the same distance. How fast is each boat traveling in knots (nautical miles per hour)?

Answer provided by our tutors

Let

r=steamboat's rate;

r+20kn=yacht's rate

5r=2.5(r+20kn)

5r=2.5r+50kn сubtract 2.5r from each side

2.5r=50kn divide each side by 2.5

r=20kn

The steamboats speed was 20 knots.

r+20kn=20kn+20kn=40kn

The yacht's speed was 40 knots.