Question

The ships were 4000miles apart at midnight and were headed directly toward each other. if they collided at 8 am, find the speed of both ships if one was 20 miles per hour faster.

Answer 1

The slower ship is going 240 mph

The faster ship is going 260 mph

Explanation:

midnight to 8 am is 8 hours, the distance shortened between the ships each hour was 500 miles so if the slower ship's speed is x and the faster ship's speed is y:

x + y = 500

and the question tells us that

x + 20 = y

Using the substitution method we can substitute the y in the first question for the second's.

x + (x + 20) = 500

solve:

x + x + 20 = 500

2x + 20 = 500

2x + 20 - 20 = 500 - 20

2x = 480

(2x) / 2 = 480 / 2

x = 240

Now that we have x we can now substitute the x into the second equation

(240) + 20 = y

260 = y

y = 260

And after adding the unit of measurement (Miles Per Hour) we get the speed of the slower ship (x) to be 240 MPH, and the speed of the faster ship (y) to be 260 MPH.