Question

bruce found that his plane could only fly at 4 times the speed of the wind. he flew 800 miles downwind in 1 hour more than it took to fly 300 miles upwind. what was the speed of the plane in still air in terms of mph

Answer 1

To solve the problem, we set up a system of equations using the given information. The speed of the plane in still air is 475 mph.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we can set up a system of equations using the given information. Let's assume the speed of the wind is w mph, and the speed of the plane in still air is p mph.

When flying downwind, the plane's speed will be the sum of its speed in still air and the speed of the wind. So, the equation we can set up is:

p + w = 800/1 = 800

When flying upwind, the plane's speed will be the difference between its speed in still air and the speed of the wind. So, the equation we can set up is:

p - w = 300/(1 + 1) = 300/2 = 150

Now we can solve this system of equations to find the values of p and w.

Adding the two equations, we get:

2p = 950

Dividing both sides by 2, we get:

p = 475

Substituting this value back into one of the equations, we can solve for w:

475 + w = 800

w = 800 - 475 = 325

Therefore, the speed of the plane in still air is 475 mph.