Question

A grain barge travels on a river from point a to point b loading and unloading grain. the barge travels at a rate of 99 mph relative to the water. the river flows downstream at a rate of 1 mph. if the trip upstream takes 2 hours longer than the tripâ downstream, how far is it from point a to pointâ b?

Answer 1

The distance from point a and point is equal for travels going back and forth. They would just differ in time and speed because of the sea's speed that propels the vessel. The solutions as as follows:

Distance upstream = Distance downstream
99(t + 2) = (99 + 1)(t)

Solving for t,
t = 198 hours

That means that the distance is equal to:
Distance = 99 miles/hour * (198 + 2 hours)
Distance = 19,800 miles