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Please help me with this (with explanation)

Please help me with this (with explanation)-example-1
User Maazza
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1 Answer

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Suppose the cyclist travels for a total time of t hours.

For 20 min = 1/3 hr, the cyclist does not move.

Over the remaining (t - 1/3) hr, the cyclist is moving at a constant speed of 22.0 km/hr, so that the cyclist would travel a distance of

x = (22.0 km/hr) • ((t - 1/3) hr) ≈ (22.0 km/hr) t - 7.33 km

If the cyclist's average speed over the total time t was 17.5 km/hr, then by the definition of average speed,

17.5 km/hr = x / t

Replace x with the distance expression from earlier:

17.5 km/hr = ((22.0 km/hr) t - 7.33 km) / t

Solve for t :

17.5 km/hr = 22.0 km/hr - (7.33 km) / t

(7.33 km) / t = 4.5 km/hr

t = (7.33 km) / (4.5 km/hr)

t ≈ 1.62963 hr

Then the distance the cyclist traveled must have been

x ≈ (22.0 km/hr) (1.62963 hr) - 7.33 km ≈ 28.5 km

and so the answer is A.

Alternatively, as soon as you arrive at

17.5 km/hr = x / t

you can instead solve for t in terms of x, then plug that into the distance equation.

t = x / (17.5 km/hr)

then

x ≈ (22.0 km/hr) (x / (17.5 km/hr)) - 7.33 km

x ≈ 1.25714 x - 7.33 km

0.25714x ≈ 7.33 km

x = (7.33 km) / 0.25714 ≈ 28.5 km

User Abalta
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