Question

the speed of a boat in still water is 24 mph. if the boat travels 54 miles upstream in the same time it take to travel 90 miles downstream, find the speed of the current

Answer 1

Answer: Upstream: 24 - 6 = 18 ---> 54 = 18 x? ---> ? = 54/18 = 3 hours

(24 - 6)x 3 = 18 x 3 = 54 miles

(24 + 6) x 3 = 30 x 3 = 90 miles

The speed of the current is 6 mph.

Time is 3 hours

Answer 2

Let's call the speed of the current "c". Then, the speed of the boat relative to the water when it is going upstream is 24 - c mph, and the speed of the boat relative to the water when it is going downstream is 24 + c mph.

Using the time it takes to travel the given distances, we can set up the following equation:

(54) / (24 - c) = (90) / (24 + c)

Expanding and solving for c, we find that:

c = 4 mph

So the speed of the current is 4 mph.