Warren drives his car 80
miles and has an average of a certain speed. If the average speed had been 3mph
more, he could have traveled 86
miles in the same length of time. What was his average speed?
Let's call Warren's average speed "x" mph.
Using the formula Distance = Speed x Time, we know that:
- When he drove 80 miles at x mph, the time it took him was 80/x hours.
- When he could have driven 86 miles at (x+3) mph, the time it would have taken him was 86/(x+3) hours.
Since we're told that these two times are the same, we can set them equal to each other:
80/x = 86/(x+3)
To solve for x, we can cross-multiply and simplify:
80(x+3) = 86x
80x + 240 = 86x
6x = 240
x = 40
Therefore, Warren's average speed was 40 mph.
Let's denote Warren's average speed as "x" mph.
According to the given information, Warren drives his car 80 miles at an average speed of "x" mph. We can use the formula for speed, which is distance divided by time, to find the time taken for this distance:
Time taken = Distance / Speed
Time taken = 80 miles / x mph
Now, if Warren had traveled 86 miles at an average speed that is 3 mph more than his current speed, his new speed would be "x + 3" mph. Using the same formula, we can find the time taken for this distance:
Time taken = Distance / Speed
Time taken = 86 miles / (x + 3) mph
Since the two situations took the same amount of time, we can set the two expressions for time equal to each other:
80 miles / x mph = 86 miles / (x + 3) mph
To solve for x, we can cross-multiply:
80(x + 3) = 86x
80x + 240 = 86x
Subtracting 80x from both sides gives:
240 = 6x
Dividing both sides by 6 gives:
40 = x
Therefore, Warren's average speed was 40 mph.