124k views
3 votes
Susan traveled 140 miles at a rate of 28 mph. She then drove for 2 hours at a speed of 35 mph. What was her average speed for the entire trip?

User Paresh J
by
8.4k points

1 Answer

2 votes

Answer:

30 miles per hour

Explanation:

We want to know the average speed over a course with one leg run at one speed, and another leg run at a different speed.

Setup

To find the average speed, we need to know the total time and the total distance. The relation ...

time = distance/speed ⇔ distance = speed × time

can be used to fill in the blanks.

The first leg is a distance of 140 miles. The time for that leg is ...

t1 = (140 mi)/(28 mi/h) = 5 h

The second leg takes 2 hours at a speed of 35 mph. The distance covered is ...

d2 = (35 mi/h)(2 h) = 70 mi

The total distance is ...

d = d1 +d2 = 140 mi +70 mi = 210 mi

The total time is ...

t = t1 +t2 = 5 h + 2 h = 7 h

Solution

The average speed is the ratio of total distance to total time:

d/t = (210 mi)/(7 h) = 30 mi/h

Susan's average speed for the trip was 30 mph.

User Ostap Brehin
by
7.9k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.