A boat can travel
59 mph in still water. If it travels
325 miles with the current in the same length of time it travels
265 miles against the current, what is the speed of the current?
To find the speed of the current, you'll need to set up an equation using the given information:
Let's assume the speed of the current is "c" mph.
When the boat travels downstream (with the current), the effective speed of the boat is increased by the speed of the current. So, the boat's speed will be 59 mph + c mph.
When the boat travels upstream (against the current), the effective speed of the boat is decreased by the speed of the current. So, the boat's speed will be 59 mph - c mph.
Now, we know that the boat travels 325 miles downstream and 265 miles upstream in the same length of time. We can use the formula "distance = speed × time" to set up the equation.
Distance downstream: (59 + c) × time = 325
Distance upstream: (59 - c) × time = 265
Since the boat travels the same length of time in both cases, we can set these two equations equal to each other:
(59 + c) × time = 325 = (59 - c) × time = 265
We can now solve this equation to find the value of "c", the speed of the current.
since time = distance/speed,
325/(59+x) = 265/(59-x)