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It takes 57 minutes for a boat to travel up and down a river. The boat's speed in still water is 13 mph. The one way trip is 6 miles. How fast is the current?​

User Nanna
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1 Answer

4 votes

Final Answer:

The speed of the current is 1 mph.

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given that a boat takes 57 minutes to travel up and down a river. Let's assume that the distance between the two points is d miles. Since the one-way trip is 6 miles, the total distance traveled by the boat is 2d miles. We can use the formula:

time = distance / speed

to relate the time, distance, and speed of the boat. Since the boat's speed in still water is 13 mph, we can write:

57/60 = 2d / (13 + c) + 2d / (13 - c)

where c is the speed of the current. Simplifying this equation, we get:

19/20 = d(13^2 - c^2) / (169 - c^2)

Multiplying both sides by (169 - c^2), we get:

19(169 - c^2) / 20 = d(13^2 - c^2)

Simplifying this equation, we get:

2473 - 19c^2 = 169d

Since the one-way trip is 6 miles, we have:

d = 6

Substituting this value in the above equation, we get:

2473 - 19c^2 = 1014

Solving for c, we get:

c = 1

Therefore, the speed of the current is 1 mph.

User Shugar
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