Help Please! This is my last problem and I'm stuck. Thanks.

[stella96]

Jody can bicycle at a rate of 12 mph when there is no wind. Against the wind, Jody bikes 8 mi in the same time that it takes to bike 14 mi with the wind. What is the speed of the wind?

 

[tkhunny]

How did you get through the other problems?

#1 thing to do - Name Stuff

W = Wind Speed.

You tell me what step #2 is.

 

[mmm4444bot]

Hello stella96:

The first step is to assign a variable to represent the speed of the wind.

W = wind speed

We need to know a little physics to help us set up an equation for finding the speed of the wind.

Jody's speed is 12 mph.

When she's riding with the wind, her speed increases by the speed of the wind because it helps push her along.

Jody's speed riding with the wind is:

12 + W

When she's riding against the wind, her speed decreases by the speed of the wind because it's hindering her progress.

Jody's speed riding against the wind is:

12 - W

Hopefully, you are familiar with the equation that relates elasped time, speed of travel, and distance:

Distance = Speed * Elapsed Time

Since the problem tells us that the two time periods are the same, we should solve the equation above for Elapsed time and use the result to write an equation.

Elapsed Time = Distance / Speed

Against the wind, we get the following expression for elapsed time:

8/(12 - W)

With the wind, we get:

14/(12 + W)

We are told that these expressions for the time are equal:

8/(12 - W) = 14/(12 + W)

Can you solve this equation for W?

Let us know if you need more help. Please show your work.

~ Mark