Let d represent the distance of the destination from the starting point.
After 45 min, Henry has already driven d-68 miles. After 71 min., he has already driven d-51.5 miles.
So we have 2 points on a straight line:
(45,d-68) and (71,d-51.5). Let's find the slope of the line thru these 2 points:
d-51.5 - (d-68) 16.5 miles slope of line = m = ----------------------- = ------------------ 71 - 45 26 min
Thus, the slope, m, is m = 0.635 miles/min
The distance to his destination would be d - (0.635 miles/min)(79 min), or
d - 50.135 miles. We don't know how far his destination is from his starting point, so represent that by "d."
After 45 minutes: Henry has d - 68 miles to go;
After 71 minutes, he has d - 51.5 miles to go; and
After 79 minutes, he has d - x miles to go. We need to find x.
Actually, much of this is unnecessary. Assuming that Henry's speed is 0.635 miles/ min, and knowing that there are 8 minutes between 71 and 79 minutes, we can figure that the distance traveled during those 8 minutes is
(0.635 miles/min)(8 min) = 5.08 miles. Subtracting thix from 51.5 miles, we conclude that after 79 minutes, Henry has (51.5-5.08), or 46.42, miles left before he reaches his destination.
This is a subtraction between polynomials, since both functions are polynomials, hence, to solve the problem with need to perform the subtraction, by coefficients.
