AMC 10 Step by Step

2018 AMC 10B Problem 2

P1-10~2 minPrint

Sam drove 9696 miles in 9090 minutes. His average speed during the first 3030 minutes was 6060 mph (miles per hour), and his average speed during the second 3030 minutes was 6565 mph. What was his average speed, in mph, during the last 3030 minutes?

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Key insight

Each 30 minutes is half an hour. Find the miles driven in the first two half hours, subtract from 96, and double what is left.

Solution

The speeds are in miles per hour, so first turn 3030 minutes into hours: 3030 minutes is 12\tfrac12 hour.

1. First half hour at 6060 mph: 60×12=3060 \times \tfrac12 = 30 miles.
2. Second half hour at 6565 mph: 65×12=32.565 \times \tfrac12 = 32.5 miles.
3. The whole trip was 9696 miles, so the last half hour covered
96−30−32.5=33.5 miles.96 - 30 - 32.5 = 33.5 \text{ miles}.
4. Going 33.533.5 miles in half an hour means going twice that in a full hour: 33.5×2=6733.5 \times 2 = 67 mph.

The answer is (D) 67\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ 67}.

Why this works

A trip in pieces is easiest handled one piece at a time: distance equals speed times time for each piece, and the pieces add up to the whole trip. Always put the time in hours before multiplying by a speed in miles per hour.

Alternative approach

The three stretches are all the same length of time, so the average speed for the whole trip is the plain average of the three speeds. The whole trip averages 9696 miles in 1.51.5 hours, which is 96÷1.5=6496 \div 1.5 = 64 mph. So the three speeds add up to 3×64=1923 \times 64 = 192, and the last speed is 192−60−65=67192 - 60 - 65 = 67.

Concise solution

A shorter write-up, the way contest solutions are usually written. It may take a different route from the solution above.

Each 3030-minute stretch is half an hour.

  • First half hour at 6060 mph: 60⋅12=3060 \cdot \tfrac12 = 30 miles.
  • Second half hour at 6565 mph: 65⋅12=32.565 \cdot \tfrac12 = 32.5 miles.

That leaves 96−30−32.5=33.596 - 30 - 32.5 = 33.5 miles for the final half hour, so the speed then was
33.51/2=67 mph.\frac{33.5}{1/2} = 67 \text{ mph}.

The answer is (D) 67\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ 67}.

Review in the AoPS books

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Problem © Mathematical Association of America (MAA), American Mathematics Competitions. Reproduced for non-commercial educational use. Solution and commentary are original to this site.