2018 AMC 10B Problem 2
Sam drove miles in minutes. His average speed during the first minutes was mph (miles per hour), and his average speed during the second minutes was mph. What was his average speed, in mph, during the last 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 minutes into hours: minutes is hour.
1. First half hour at mph: miles.
2. Second half hour at mph: miles.
3. The whole trip was miles, so the last half hour covered
4. Going miles in half an hour means going twice that in a full hour: mph.
The answer is .
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 miles in hours, which is mph. So the three speeds add up to , and the last speed is .
Concise solution
A shorter write-up, the way contest solutions are usually written. It may take a different route from the solution above.
Each -minute stretch is half an hour.
- First half hour at mph: miles.
- Second half hour at mph: miles.
That leaves miles for the final half hour, so the speed then was
The answer is .
Review in the AoPS books
- Introduction to Algebra, Chapter 3: One-Variable Linear Equations (§3.3, §3.4)
- Introduction to Algebra, Chapter 6: Ratios and Percents
- Introduction to Algebra, Chapter 7: Proportion (§7.4)
- Prealgebra, Chapter 13: Data and Statistics (§13.1)
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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.