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Conference rusure::math

Title:Mathematics at DEC
Moderator:RUSURE::EDP
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2083
Total number of notes:14613

1657.0. "average speed puzzle" by STAR::ABBASI (Have you spelled checked today?) Sun Aug 30 1992 05:37

    saw this in American MAth. monthly, vol 59, 1952, pp 99-100
     
    motorist drives from NY to troy at an average speed of 30 MPH,
    and from troy to NY at 60 MPH, assuming the distance is same
    each way, what is the average speed for the whole trip?

    what I got for answer is :
    
    from TROY to NY:  speed= distance/time_1 => 30=X/t_1    (1)
    from NY to TROY:  60=X/t_2                              (2)
    so total time is t_1+t_2
    but t_2= .5 t_1
    so total time = 1.5 t_1
    so average speed for the whole trip= 2X/(t_1+t_2)
                                       =2X/(1.5*t_1)
    but t_1= X/30   from (1)
    so  average speed for whole trip= 2X*30/(1.5*X) = 60/1.5 =
                                    = 60*2/3=120/3=

                                    = 40 MPH
    /nasser

     
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1657.1TAV02::NITSANOne side will make you largerSun Aug 30 1992 12:349
An opposite example (looks difficult, solved easily):

    > motorist drives from NY to troy at an average speed of 30 MPH,
    > and from troy to NY at 60 MPH (back the same road).
   < Assuming the trip at each direction begins at the same time of
   < day, prove (1 line proof) that there exists a point on the road
   < which the motorist visited twice at exactly the same time of day.

/Nitsan
1657.2attempt at answering .1STAR::ABBASIHave you spelled checked today?Sun Aug 30 1992 19:539
    imagine a motorist A leaves NY to TROY, and at same time a motorist B
    leaves TROY to NY on the same road, then they must pass each others at 
    one point on the road, when this happens it will be offcourse same time
    of the day for each of them. this answers .1


    /Nasser
    could not squeeze all the above on one line ;-)

1657.3TwistHOBBLE::GERTLERMon Aug 31 1992 14:497
    Here's an interesting twist:
    
    If you travel from Troy to NY at 30 mph, how fast would you have
    to drive the return leg such that the average speed for the round
    trip is 60 mph?
    
    -Slice
1657.4must be very fassssst ?!STAR::ABBASIHave you spelled checked today?Mon Aug 31 1992 16:0318
    I get that the return trip must take 0 units of time for the average
    speed to be 60 MPH, this means the speed for the return part of the
    trip must be infinity !
    
    60 = total distance/total_time
       = 2X/(t_1+t_2)
    but 30= X/t_1
        t_1= X/30
    
    so 60= 2X/(X/30+t_2)
       30= X/(X/30+t_2)
       30= 30X/(X+30t_2)
       1=  X/(X+30t_2)
       1= 1/(1+ 30 t_2/x)
       so 30 t_2/X = 0
       so t_2 = 0
    
    /nasser