you are driving to visit a friend in another state who lives 440 miles away. you are driving 50 miles per hour and have already driven 240 miles.

Question

can you write me an equation to show how much longer in hours it will take to drive to reach my destination?

Answer 1

Hi, Julia.

 

For this equation, since you do not know how much longer it will take, the number of hours is an unknown quantity. We will let that be x. However, since you drive 50 miles per hour, the distance traveled in x hours is 50*x or simply, 50x. For example, if you drive two hours, x is 2 and you travel 50*2 or 100 miles.

 

So, the distance you have already traveled, plus the distance you need to travel will equal the 440 miles. That means

240 + 50x = 440; where 240 is the distance you have traveled and 50x is the distance you have left to travel in relation to x hours.

 

Now, solve for x.

240 + 50x = 440

240 - 240 + 50x = 440 - 240

50x = 200

50x/50 = 200/50

x = 4

 

So, you need to travel 4 more hours (at 50 mph) to get to your destination. This should make sense because you are 200 miles from your destination and 50*4 = 200.