Question

Jim paddles from one shore of a lake three miles wide at 4 mph, and John paddles from the opposite
shore at 5 mph. How long will they travel before they meet?
A. 1 hour, 24 minutes
B. 20 minutes
C. 27 minutes
D. 3 hours
Please don't tell me the answer. I just want to know the steps to figuring it out

Answer 1

You can model this by using an equation. lets say t represents time in hours. You could set it up as 4t+5t=Distance. The 4 and the 5 represent speed and (as above) t is time. Speed * time = distance. Therefore put in the distance you want to solve for (that is, how far they must travel TOTAL) and you get this
\[4t+5t=3\]
Solve for t.