Question

A jet that can fly 420mph in calm air can travel 450 miles against a headwind in the same amount of time that it can travel 600 miles with the same tailwind. Find the wind speed.

Answer 1

To find the wind speed, set up a system of equations based on the given information and solve for the wind speed.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the wind speed, we can set up a system of equations based on the given information. Let's assume the speed of the wind is w mph. Against a headwind, the speed of the jet would be 420 - w mph. With a tailwind, the speed of the jet would be 420 + w mph. We can now set up the following equation:

450 / (420 - w) = 600 / (420 + w)

Cross-multiplying and simplifying, we get:

450(420 + w) = 600(420 - w)

Solving this equation will give us the value of w, which represents the wind speed.