Question

A person is canoeing on a river. Her overall speed is 3.4 mile(s) per hour up river and 5.6 mile(s) per hour down river. Find the speed of the river's current and the speed the person can paddle in still water.

Answer 1

a)
`v_(river) = 1.1\,mph`, b)
`v_(person) =4.5\,mph`

Explanation:

Overall speeds up river and down river are modelled by following expressions:

Up River

`-3.4\,mph = v_(river) - v_(person)`

Down River

`5.6\,mph=v_(river) + v_(person)`

After some algebraic manipulations, speeds are found:

`v_(river) = 1.1\,mph`

`v_(person) =4.5\,mph`