Question

Eduardo’s average speed on his commute to work was 55 miles per hour. On the way home, he hit traffic and only averaged 40 miles per hour. If the round trip took him 1.25 hours, which expression represents the distance, in miles, for his trip home that is missing from the table?

A table showing Rate in miles per minute, Time in hours, and Distance in miles. The first row shows Commute to Work and has 55, t, and 55 t. The second row shows Commute to Home, and has 40, blank, and question mark.

t – 1.25
1.25 – t
40(1.25 – t)
40(t – 1.25)

Answer 1

Answer: Let's use the time and distance formula: Distance = Rate × Time.

For the first part of the trip (commute to work):

Rate = 55 miles per hour

Time = t hours (since it is missing from the table)

Distance = 55 × t = 55t miles

For the second part of the trip (commute to home):

Rate = 40 miles per hour

Time = 1.25 - t hours (since the round trip took 1.25 hours, and the time for the commute to work is t hours)

Distance = 40 × (1.25 - t) = 50 - 40t miles

Therefore, the expression that represents the distance, in miles, for his trip home that is missing from the table is 50 - 40t.