What is his rate of walking for the entire trip?

HOME

Math Central

Quandaries & Queries

Subject: speed
Name: garmani
Who are you: Student

Dear Mr/Ms,
Here is my question as follow:
A man walks 500 feet at 4 miles per hour and returns to the starting point at 3 miles per hour. What is his rate of walking for the entire trip?
My advance gratitude on your help.

Sincerely,
Garmani

Hello Garmani.

His overall speed equals his overall distance divided by his overall time. You know the distance (2 x 500 ft), so you need to find the time.

So first find out how long it takes to walk 500 ft at 4 miles per hour (there are 5280 feet in a mile). Then find out how long it takes to walk 500 ft at 3 miles per hour. Add these two times together and divide 1000 ft by that time. Convert this to miles per hour (by dividing by 5280 feet).

Hope this helps,
Stephen La Rocque.

Math Central is supported by the University of Regina and The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.