<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

John can fly his airplane 2800 miles with a wind speed of 50 mph in the same time he can travel 2400 miles against the wind. If the speed of the wind is 50 mph, find the speed of his airplane.

650 mph

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Jim’s speedboat can travel 20 miles upstream against a 3 mph current in the same amount of time it travels 22 miles downstream with a 3 mph current speed. Find the speed of the Jim’s boat.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Hazel needs to get to her granddaughter’s house by taking an airplane and a rental car. She travels 900 miles by plane and 250 miles by car. The plane travels 250 mph faster than the car. If she drives the rental car for 2 hours more than she rode the plane, find the speed of the car.

50 mph

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Stu trained for 3 hours yesterday. He ran 14 miles and then biked 40 miles. His biking speed is 6 mph faster than his running speed. What is his running speed?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

When driving the 9 hour trip home, Sharon drove 390 miles on the interstate and 150 miles on country roads. Her speed on the interstate was 15 more than on country roads. What was her speed on country roads?

50 mph

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Two sisters like to compete on their bike rides. Tamara can go 4 mph faster than her sister, Samantha. If it takes Samantha 1 hours longer than Tamara to go 80 miles, how fast can Samantha ride her bike?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Solve Work Applications

In the following exercises, solve work applications.

Mike, an experienced bricklayer, can build a wall in 3 hours, while his son, who is learning, can do the job in 6 hours. How long does it take for them to build a wall together?

2 hours

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

It takes Sam 4 hours to rake the front lawn while his brother, Dave, can rake the lawn in 2 hours. How long will it take them to rake the lawn working together?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Mary can clean her apartment in 6 hours while her roommate can clean the apartment in 5 hours. If they work together, how long would it take them to clean the apartment?

2 hours and 44 minutes

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Brian can lay a slab of concrete in 6 hours, while Greg can do it in 4 hours. If Brian and Greg work together, how long will it take?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Leeson can proofread a newspaper copy in 4 hours. If Ryan helps, they can do the job in 3 hours. How long would it take for Ryan to do his job alone?

12 hours

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Paul can clean a classroom floor in 3 hours. When his assistant helps him, the job takes 2 hours. How long would it take the assistant to do it alone?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Josephine can correct her students’ test papers in 5 hours, but if her teacher’s assistant helps, it would take them 3 hours. How long would it take the assistant to do it alone?

7 hours and 30 minutes

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Washing his dad’s car alone, eight year old Levi takes 2.5 hours. If his dad helps him, then it takes 1 hour. How long does it take the Levi’s dad to wash the car by himself?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Jackson can remove the shingles off of a house in 7 hours, while Martin can remove the shingles in 5 hours. How long will it take them to remove the shingles if they work together?

2 hours and 55 minutes

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

At the end of the day Dodie can clean her hair salon in 15 minutes. Ann, who works with her, can clean the salon in 30 minutes. How long would it take them to clean the shop if they work together?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Ronald can shovel the driveway in 4 hours, but if his brother Donald helps it would take 2 hours. How long would it take Donald to shovel the driveway alone?

4 hours

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

It takes Tina 3 hours to frost her holiday cookies, but if Candy helps her it takes 2 hours. How long would it take Candy to frost the holiday cookies by herself?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Everyday math

Dana enjoys taking her dog for a walk, but sometimes her dog gets away and she has to run after him. Dana walked her dog for 7 miles but then had to run for 1 mile, spending a total time of 2.5 hours with her dog. Her running speed was 3 mph faster than her walking speed. Find her walking speed.

3 mph

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Ken and Joe leave their apartment to go to a football game 45 miles away. Ken drives his car 30 mph faster Joe can ride his bike. If it takes Joe 2 hours longer than Ken to get to the game, what is Joe’s speed?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Writing exercises

In [link] , the solution h = −4 is crossed out. Explain why.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Paula and Yuki are roommates. It takes Paula 3 hours to clean their apartment. It takes Yuki 4 hours to clean the apartment. The equation 1 3 + 1 4 = 1 t can be used to find t , the number of hours it would take both of them, working together, to clean their apartment. Explain how this equation models the situation.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Self check

After completing the exercises, use this checklist to evaluate your mastery of the objectives of this section.

This table has three rows and four columns. The first row is a header row and it labels each column. The first column is labeled

On a scale of 1–10, how would you rate your mastery of this section in light of your responses on the checklist? How can you improve this?

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Elementary algebra. OpenStax CNX. Jan 18, 2017 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col12116/1.2
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Elementary algebra' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask