Question

Suppose that a cyclist began a 374 mi ride across a state at the western edge of the​ state, at the same time that a car traveling toward it leaves the eastern end of the state. If the bicycle and car met after 5.5 hr and the car traveled 33.433.4 mph faster than the​ bicycle, find the average rate of each.

Answer 1

This is the concept of relative speed; We are required to calculate the speed of the car and the bicycle.
Distance between the car and Bicycle=374 miles
Time they met=5.5 hr
Speed traveled by bicycle=x
Speed traveled by car=x+33.4334
Relative speed=x+(x+33.4334)=(2x+33.4334) mph
Distance=speed*time
374=(2x+33.4334)*5.5
374=11x+183.8837
collecting like term we get:
374-183.8837=11x
11x=190.1163
thus;
x=(190.1163)/(11)
x=17.2833 mph
thus the speed of the bicycle was x=17.2833 mph
The speed of the car was (x+33.4334)=(17.2833+33.4334)=50.7167 mph