Answer: Rita's paddling speed in still water is 2.5 miles pet hour and the speed of the river's current is 0.5 miles per hour.
Explanation:
Let x represent Rita's paddling speed in still water.
Let y represent the speed of the river's current.
On a canoe trip, Rita paddled upstream (against the current) at an average speed of 2 miles per hour relative to the riverbank. This means that
x - y = 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - -1
On the return trip downstream (with the current) . Her average speed was 3 miles per hour. This means that
x + y = 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - -2
Adding equation 1 and equation 2, it becomes
2x = 5
x = 5/2 = 2.5 miles per hour.
Substituting x = 2.5 into equation 1, it becomes
2.5 - y = 2
y = 2.5 - 2 = 0.5 miles per hour