Question

Part 2

Tom wanted to go on a 1-mile kayak trip and is wondering how long it will take him to go up and down stream if he is paddling at 4
miles per hour while current is flowing at 3 miles per hour.

Answer 1

To calculate the time it will take Tom to complete the 1-mile kayak trip, we need to take into account the speed of the current and the speed at which Tom can paddle relative to the current.

Let's first consider the time it would take for Tom to go upstream against the current. In this case, the speed of the current is subtracted from Tom's paddling speed, so his effective speed is:

Effective speed upstream = 4 miles per hour - 3 miles per hour = 1 mile per hour

To travel 1 mile at 1 mile per hour, Tom would take:

Time upstream = Distance / Effective speed upstream = 1 mile / 1 mile per hour = 1 hour

Now let's consider the time it would take for Tom to go downstream with the current. In this case, the speed of the current is added to Tom's paddling speed, so his effective speed is:

Effective speed downstream = 4 miles per hour + 3 miles per hour = 7 miles per hour

To travel 1 mile at 7 miles per hour, Tom would take:

Time downstream = Distance / Effective speed downstream = 1 mile / 7 miles per hour ≈ 0.14 hours or about 8 minutes

Therefore, the total time it would take Tom to complete the 1-mile kayak trip, including going upstream and downstream, would be:

Total time = Time upstream + Time downstream = 1 hour + 0.14 hours ≈ 1.14 hours or about 68 minutes.