You enter a canoe race. The race consists of paddling 18 Miles downstream and turning around and paddling back to the starting point.

Question

Don’t solve it, I just need help setting it up. Here is the rest of the problem. You enter a canoe race. The race consists of paddling 18 Miles downstream and turning around and paddling back to the starting point. You can paddle a canoe 18 miles in two hours when paddling with the current. When paddling against the current you make no progress, in fact you lose two miles in two hours. Find the rate of the current and the rate you are paddling the canoe.

Answer 1

Well, you avg 18/2 = 9 mph going and -2/2 = -1 mph on the way "back."

 

(9 + (-1))/2 = 4 mph, the rate of paddling.

 

The rate of the current is 9 - 4 or 4 - (-1) = 5 mph.