A boy cycled from his home to a friend's house 24km away at an average speed of 16km/h. Finding his friend absent, he returned home immediatly at an average speed of 12km/h. Find the average speed

I know how to find the average speed, just that I need to know how to find out the total distance
Please help me and show working out on how to find the total distance

The boys are 24 km apart and one of them makes a round trip back and forth.

The total distance travelled is 48 km.

Use that and the total elapsed time for the average speed.

To find the total distance, we can use the formula:

Distance = Speed x Time

Let's calculate the time it took for the boy to reach his friend's house:

Distance = 24 km
Speed = 16 km/h

Time = Distance / Speed
Time = 24 km / 16 km/h

Time = 1.5 hours

Since he returned home immediately, the total time for the round trip is simply twice the time it took to reach his friend's house:

Total Time = 1.5 hours + 1.5 hours
Total Time = 3 hours

Now, let's calculate the total distance:

Total Distance = Average Speed x Total Time

As we want to find the average speed, we'll rearrange the formula:

Average Speed = Total Distance / Total Time

We need to find the total distance first and then substitute it into the formula.

To find the total distance, we'll use the formula for the first leg of the trip:

Distance = Speed x Time
Distance = 16 km/h x 1.5 hours
Distance = 24 km

Since the boy traveled 24 km to reach his friend's house and immediately returned home, the total distance for the round trip is:

Total Distance = 24 km + 24 km
Total Distance = 48 km

Now, we'll substitute the total distance into the formula for average speed:

Average Speed = Total Distance / Total Time
Average Speed = 48 km / 3 hours

Average Speed = 16 km/h

Therefore, the average speed for the entire trip is 16 km/h.

To find the total distance traveled, you can use the formula distance = speed * time.

Let's calculate the time it took for the boy to reach his friend's house and return home.

The distance from his home to his friend's house is 24 km, and he cycled at an average speed of 16 km/h. Using the formula, we can find the time it took to reach his friend's house:

time = distance / speed
time = 24 km / 16 km/h
time = 1.5 hours

Since the boy immediately returned home, the time it took to return is the same, which is 1.5 hours.

To find the total distance, we can add the distance traveled to his friend's house and the distance traveled back home:

total distance = distance to friend's house + distance back home
total distance = 24 km + 24 km
total distance = 48 km

So, the total distance traveled by the boy is 48 km.

Now that we know the distance, we can calculate the average speed.

average speed = total distance / total time

The total distance is 48 km and the total time is the sum of the time taken to reach the friend's house and the time taken to return home, which is 1.5 hours + 1.5 hours = 3 hours.

average speed = 48 km / 3 hours
average speed ≈ 16 km/h

Therefore, the average speed of the boy's cycling journey is approximately 16 km/h.