141k views
4 votes
A truck driver traveled at an average speed of 58 miles per hour on a 200-mile trip to pick up a load of freight. On the return trip (with the truck fully loaded), the average speed was 38 miles per hour. Find the average speed for the round trip. (Round your answer to one decimal place.)

User JustLogic
by
6.0k points

1 Answer

2 votes

Answer: Average speed = 50.0 miles per hour

Explanation:

Time = distance/speed

The truck driver traveled at an average speed of 58 miles per hour on a 200-mile trip to pick up a load of freight.

Time taken to travel this distance is

200/58 = 3.44 hours

On the return trip (with the truck fully loaded), the average speed was 38 miles per hour. Time taken to travel this distance is

200/38 = 5.26 hours

Total distance travelled on the round trip is 200 + 200 = 400 miles

Total time spent = 3.44 + 5.26 = 8.7 hours.

Average speed = total distance/total time taken

Average speed = 400/8.7 = 50.0 miles per hour

User Merta
by
5.8k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.