Three ships — the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria — are setting sail from Spain on a mission to find the shortest route to the West Indies. The year is 1492 and Columbus is about to sail the ocean blue...
"NO! It can't be so!" shouted Captain Devious, commander of the Nina. "I should be the admiral of the Santa Maria. I should be the one to lead us to the West Indies — not some pip-squeak Columbus! Columbus — HA! He probably thinks the earth is round."
The captain's first mate, Sneaky Sam, argued, "He is the greatest admiral of the seven seas, Captain. The Queen Isabella herself has given him gold, supplies, and ships."
"Ah, yes! But he might not be so great if SOMEONE ELSE were to reach the West Indies before him," mused Captain Devious, rubbing his bearded chin. A diabolical plot was hatching in his twisted mind.
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"Sneaky, I have an idea: The Santa Maria is scheduled to leave on August 3rd. Let's prepare the Nina for voyage and set sail two days early. If we do, we will be the first to claim the West Indies for Spain. We could become rich and Queen Isabella will make us heroes! What do you say, eh?" cajoled the sly captain with a smile and wink.
"Oh, I get it. You want to CHEAT your way to the West Indies by getting a head start!" cried Sneaky.
"Ssshhh! Do you want everyone to hear you? This is NOT cheating — we are simply making a few departure changes," replied Captain Devious.
Before sunrise the morning of August 1st, Captain Devious and Sneaky Sam set sail on the Nina — two days ahead of schedule. They had 4,300 km to travel from Spain to the San Salvador island of the Bahamas, and were traveling at the pace of 60 km a day.
No one but the twinkling stars knew of their treachery until dawn when Columbus went to the dock and saw the Nina missing. He called the crews of the Santa Maria and the Pinta together.
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"Men, we've been betrayed! Devious and his scurvy mate, Sneaky, are trying to rob us of our rightful claim to glory and fame. Are we going to let them get away with this?" cried Columbus.
"NO!" replied the angry crew.
Columbus and his crew worked around the clock to prepare the remaining ships. Bright and early on the summer morning of August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail for the West Indies on his flagship the Santa Maria. With the wind in his face, Columbus pondered: "How fast should we travel to land on San Salvador island five days before Captain Devious?"
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Help Christopher Columbus get to the West Indies five days BEFORE the evil Captain Devious and his nasty first mate, Sneaky Sam.
Remember: The total distance from Spain to the San Salvador island of the Bahamas is 4,300 km. Captain Devious and his ship, the Nina, left two days earlier, traveling at a rate of 60 kilometers per day towards San Salvador. Columbus left on the Santa Maria two days later, going to the same destination. How fast must Columbus travel on the Santa Maria to reach San Salvador five days before Captain Devious? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.
--- HOW DO I SOLVE THIS?
We need Columbus to make the trip in 7 days less time, since he left 2 days later. So,
4300/x = 4300/60 - 7
x = 66.5
Check:
at 60 km/day, it takes 71.67 days
at 66.5 km/day, it takes 64.67 days, or 7 days less
The real trick is to make the winds blow Columbus faster than they do Capt. Devious.
To solve this problem, you need to determine the number of days it will take Columbus to reach San Salvador. Then, you can calculate the speed that Columbus needs to travel to arrive five days earlier than Captain Devious.
Step 1: Calculate the number of days it will take Captain Devious to reach San Salvador.
Captain Devious travels at a rate of 60 kilometers per day.
The total distance from Spain to San Salvador is 4,300 kilometers.
Divide the total distance by the rate of travel to find the number of days:
4,300 km ÷ 60 km/day = 71.67 days
Step 2: Calculate the number of days Columbus needs to arrive earlier than Captain Devious.
Captain Devious left two days earlier, so Columbus needs to arrive five days before Captain Devious.
This means Columbus needs to reach San Salvador 71.67 - 5 = 66.67 days after he sets sail.
Step 3: Calculate the speed that Columbus needs to travel to arrive in 66.67 days.
Divide the total distance by the number of days Columbus has to travel:
4,300 km ÷ 66.67 days ≈ 64.48 km/day
Step 4: Round the answer.
Rounding to the nearest whole number, Columbus needs to travel at a speed of approximately 64 kilometers per day to arrive five days earlier than Captain Devious.
To solve this problem, we need to find the rate at which Columbus must travel on the Santa Maria to reach San Salvador five days before Captain Devious.
First, let's calculate the number of days it will take for Captain Devious and his ship, the Nina, to reach San Salvador:
- Captain Devious left two days earlier than Columbus, so he has a head start of 2 days.
- The rate at which Captain Devious is traveling is 60 kilometers per day.
- The total distance from Spain to San Salvador is 4,300 kilometers.
To find the number of days it will take for Captain Devious to reach San Salvador, we divide the total distance by his rate:
Number of days = Total distance / Rate
Number of days = 4,300 km / 60 km/day
Number of days ≈ 71.67 days
Since we want Columbus to reach San Salvador five days before Captain Devious, we subtract 5 from the number of days it will take Captain Devious:
Number of days for Columbus = 71.67 days - 5 days
Number of days for Columbus ≈ 66.67 days
Now, we need to calculate the rate at which Columbus must travel on the Santa Maria to reach San Salvador in 66.67 days:
Rate = Total distance / Number of days
Rate = 4,300 km / 66.67 days
Rate ≈ 64.5 km/day
Therefore, Columbus must travel at a rate of approximately 64.5 kilometers per day on the Santa Maria to reach San Salvador five days before Captain Devious.
Rounding to the nearest whole number, Columbus should travel at a rate of 65 kilometers per day on the Santa Maria.