Question

An eastbound car is going 5 miles per hour faster than a westbound car. The cars are 225 miles apart 5 hours after passing each other on a highway. What is the speed, in miles per hour, of the eastbound car?

a) 40 mph
b) 45 mph
c) 50 mph
d) 55 mph

Answer 1

By setting up an equation to find the speed of the westbound car and adding 5 mph for the eastbound car, the calculated speed is 25 mph. However, this speed doesn't match any of the given multiple-choice options, which indicates there might be an error in the question or provided options.

Step-by-step explanation:

The problem involves determining the speed of two cars traveling in opposite directions and the distance they cover over a given period of time. Let's denote the speed of the westbound car as s miles per hour. Consequently, the eastbound car travels at s + 5 mph, as it's given to be 5 miles per hour faster.

Since they are moving away from each other, after 5 hours the total distance between the cars would be the sum of the distances each car has traveled. This can be represented by the equation:

5s + 5(s + 5) = 225

When we simplify this equation, we get:

5s + 5s + 25 = 225

Combining like terms, we have:

10s + 25 = 225

Subtract 25 from both sides to get 10s = 200, and then divide by 10:

s = 20 mph

Since the eastbound car is going 5 mph faster, its speed is 20 + 5 = 25 mph. However, none of the provided options (a) 40 mph, (b) 45 mph, (c) 50 mph, (d) 55 mph match this value, suggesting a potential error in the question or the options provided.