Question

A man flies a small airplane from Fargo to Bismarck, North Dakota --- a distance of 180 miles. Because he is flying into a head wind, the trip takes him 2 hours. On the way back, the wind is still blowing at the same speed, so the return trip takes only 1 hours. What is the plane's speed in still air, and how fast is the wind blowing?

Answer 1

airplane speed 135mph windspeed 45 mph

Step-by-step explanation:

This information helps us to write down a system of linear equations

When going head wind, the speed of the wind is substracted from that of the airplane and on the return trip it is added, then:

A:=Airlplane speed

W:= Wind speed

(A+W)*1h=180mi (1)

(A-W)*2h=180mi (2)

then from (1) A=180-W (3), replacing this in (2) we get (180-W-W)*2h =180mi, then

360-4W=180, or 180=4W, then W=45 mph. Replacing this in (3) we have that A=180-45=135 mph.