Thursday, April 8, 2010

How far would you drive for a family dinner?

April is the time of travel: Passover dinners, Easter brunches, school vacations or just life-is-beautiful-again weekend trips. A friend complained to me that she spent five hours in the car last week, driving to her mother's house and back for a holiday family gathering. On the way there traffic was terrible due to flooding and she averaged only 20 mph. On the way back, it was a little better averaging 30 mph. How far away do you think her mother lives?

This puzzle is adapted from A. Salny's book (Super Smart Super Puzzle Book #2)

Submit your answer on our Family Puzzle Marathon Be first to solve three puzzles and get a prize!

3 comments:

Kim said...

It's 60 miles each way.

To solve:

x/20 + x/30 = 5

(3x+2x)
------- = 5
60

so 5x = 300 or x = 60

Anonymous said...

Yeh Kim beat me cuz I got here late. The answer jumped out at me without calculation....5 hours total road , 3 hours going,2 hours coming back, 60 miles; that right? Yes. Bingo.

Maria said...

I really like the answer jumping right out idea. Divine math inspiration. But Kim beat you in time domain.

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