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.

Question

anonymous · Answer

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

anonymous · Answer

|dw:1383008205248:dw|

anonymous · Answer

now we need a variable, lets call it $x$|dw:1383008284104:dw|

anonymous · Answer

ooops looks like i lost you
oh well

anonymous · Answer

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