A boat's crew rowed 10.5 miles downstream, with the current, in 1.5 hours. The return trip upstream , against the current , covered the same distance, but took 3.5 hours. Find the crew's rowing rate in still water and the rate of the current.

Question

anonymous · Answer

Let x be the speed of the boat in still water and y the rate of the current. Then,
$$Distance=Speed*Time$$When going downstream,$$10.5=(x+y)*1.5$$When going upstream,$$10.5=(x-y)*3.5$$Solving the two, we have x=5 and y=2

anonymous · Answer

Which is for the still water and which is for the the rate of the current?

anonymous · Answer

x is the speed of the crew in still water
y is the rate of the current

anonymous · Answer

Okay thank you so much.