Question

Read the word problem below.

Answer 1

Answer:

1 3/5 miles/hr

Step-by-step explanation:

Let C be the speed of the current

Let D be the distance between Chan's house and the park

We know that Distance, D, is = Speed x Time

-----

Chan's speed going upstream is (8 - C)mph.

That gives us:

D = (8-C)(3 hr)

Chan's speed going downstream is (8+C)mph

So we have:

D = (8+C)(2 hr)

We know that the d is the same for these two equations, so:

(8-C)(3 hr)  = (8+C)(2 hr)

24 - 3C = 16 + 2C

5C = 8

C = (8/5) or 1 3/5 mph

Answer 2

Answer:

  1.6 mph

Step-by-step explanation:

Distance, speed, and time are related by ...

  distance = speed × time

We assume that the distances up and back are the same, so for a current speed of c, we have ...

  3(8 -c) = 2(8 +c)

  24 -3c = 16 +2c . . . eliminate parentheses

  8 = 5c . . . . . . . . . . add 3c-16 to both sides

  c = 8/5 = 1.6 . . . . . divide by 5

The speed of the current is 1.6 miles per hour.