Question

An airplane flying with the wind takes 2 hours to travel a distance

Answer 1

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Answer:

• airplane: 225 mph
• wind: 45 mph

Step-by-step explanation:

The average speed with the wind is (540 mi)/(2 h) = 270 mi/h.

The average speed against the wind is (540 mi)/(3 h) = 180 mi/h.

Let a and w represent the speeds of the airplane and wind, respectively.

  a + w = 270 . . . . speed with the wind

  a - w = 180 . . . . speed against the wind

  2a = 450 . . . . . . sum of the two equations

  a = 225 . . . . . . divide by 2

  w = a -180 = 45

The speed of the airplane is 225 miles per hour; the speed of the wind is 45 miles per hour.