Jim rode for what hours?

Question

Jim began a 205​-mile bicycle trip to build up stamina for a triathlete competition.​ Unfortunately, his bicycle chain​ broke, so he finished the trip walking. The whole trip took 9 hours. If Jim walks at a rate of 4 miles per hour and rides at 30 miles per​ hour, find the amount of time he spent on the bicycle.

Answer 1

Hi Scott, let x represent the number of hours Jim rode his bike at 30 miles per hour. That means Jim walked for 9 - x hours. Set up an equation that represents the total time.

30 * x + 4 * (9 - x) = 205

30x + 36 - 4x = 205

26x = 169

x = 6.5

Jim rode his bike for 6.5 hours and waked for 2.5 hours.

Check:

30 * 6.5 + 4 * (9 - 6.5) = 205

30 * 6.5 + 4 * 2.5 = 205

195 + 10 = 205

205 = 205

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