Problema Solution

Two towns are 1000 miles apart. A group of hikers starts from each town and walks down the trail toward each other. They meet after a total hiking time of 240 hours. If one group travels one half 1/2 mile per hour slower than the other​ group, find the rate of each group.

Answer provided by our tutors

Let

v = the rate of the slower group

v + 1/2 = the rate of the faster group

t = 240 hr the time of the travel

d = 1000 mi the distance between the cities

Since distance = rate*time we have:

vt + (v + 1/2)t = d

240v + 240(v + 1/2) = 1000

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click here to see the equation solved for v

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v = 1.83 mph

v - 1/2 = 1.83 - 0.5 = 1.33 mph

The rate of the slower group was 1.33 mph.

The rate of the faster group was 1.83 mph.