Final answer:
To find the speed of the boat, set up an equation based on the given distances and times for upstream and downstream travel and solve for the speed of the current. The speed of the boat in still water remains 18 km/hr, as the question states.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves finding the speed of the boat in still water. According to the given problem, the speed of the boat in still water is 18 km/hr, and it takes 1 hour more to travel 24 km upstream than downstream. To solve this, we can set up two equations based on the formula Speed = Distance ∕ Time. Let V be the speed of the current.
Downstream, the boat's speed is (18 + V) km/hr, and upstream it's (18 - V) km/hr. Since it takes 1 hour more to go upstream, we can write:
- 24 km ∕ (18 - V) km/hr = 24 km ∕ (18 + V) km/hr + 1 hour
Solving the equation gives us the speed of the current, which is V. However, the question does not ask for this value, but knowing this, we can directly affirm that the speed of the boat in still water is 18 km/hr as the problem states.