Question

A riverboat travelling with the current can go 80 km in 4 hours, on the return trip against the current it took 5 hours to travel the 80 km. Which of the following would represent a linear system that could be used to determine the speed of the riverboat and the current where x is the speed of the riverboat and y is the speed of the current?

Answer 1

The following linear equation represents the system:

x + y = 20 (speed of the riverboat and current in km/hr in the same direction)

x - y = 16 (speed of the riverboat relative to the current in km/hr in opposite directions)

Solving for x and y gives us:

x = 18 and y = 2 (speed of the riverboat and current in km/hr).

Explanation: