Question

Set up a rational equation and then solve the following problem: John can jog twice as fast as he can walk. He jogged 5 miles to his grandmother's house and then walked 2 miles. If the total trip took 0.9 hours, what was his average jogging speed?

Answer 1

To find John's average jogging speed, set up the equation 5 / (2x) + 2 / x = 0.9. Simplify the equation and solve for x. John's average jogging speed is 10 miles per hour.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find John's average jogging speed, we can set up a rational equation using the information given. Let's say John's walking speed is x miles per hour. Then his jogging speed would be 2x miles per hour. Since he jogged 5 miles and walked 2 miles in a total of 0.9 hours, we can set up the equation: 5 / (2x) + 2 / x = 0.9. To solve this equation, we can multiply all terms by the common denominator of 2x to get rid of the fractions. The equation becomes: 10 + 4x = 1.8x. Simplifying this equation, we find that x = 5. Therefore, John's walking speed is 5 miles per hour and his jogging speed is twice that, or 10 miles per hour.