Question

A boat traveled 336 miles downstream and back. The trip downstream took 12 hours. The trip back took 14 hours. What is the speed of the boat in Stillwater? What is the speed of the current? Define your variables Write your two equations Solve State your solutions

Answer 1

Explanation:

Let s be the speed of the boat in the still water,

and let c be the speed of the current. Then,

(s-c) is the effective speed upstream and (s+c) is the effective speed downstream.

Now, using the formula,

distance=time×speed, we get

14(s-c)=336 (1)

12(s+c)=336 (2)

Divide the equation (1) by 14, and the equation (2) by 12,

s - c = 24

s + c = 28

Adding both the equations, we get

⇒2s=52

⇒s=26mph in still water.

Puts=26 in equation (1), we get

14(26-c)=336

26-c=24

c=2 mph current.