Question

dan and cheryl paddled their canoe 40 mi in 5 hr with the current and 16 mi in 8 hr against the current. Find the speed of the current and the speed of the canoe in still water

Answer 1

Let the speed of the current be x and the speed of the canoe in still water be y, then


`y+x= (40)/(5) =8 \\ y-x= (16)/(8) =2`

Adding the two equations, we have:


`2y=10 \\ \\ \Rightarrow y=5`

From any of the equations, we have that x = 2

Therefore, the speed of the current is 2 miles per hour while the speed of the canoe in still water is 5 miles per hour.