Question

A small island is 2 miles from the nearest point P on the straight shoreline of a large lake. If a woman on the island can row a boat 2 miles per hour and can walk 3 miles per hour, where should the boat be landed in order to arrive at a town 11 miles down the shore from P in the least time? Let x be the distance (in miles) between point P and where the boat lands on the lakeshore.

Answer 1

lol everyone hates "word problem"
we need a picture i think
lets see if i can understand it enough to draw one
then calc to find the answer

Answer 2

now we need a variable, lets call it \(x\)

Answer 3

ooops looks like i lost you
oh well

Answer 4

A solution and a plot using Mathematica 8 Home Edition, is attached.