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imc

prealgebra intermediate

Problem

Chantal and Jean start hiking from a trailhead toward a fire tower. Jean is wearing a heavy backpack and walks slower. Chantal starts walking at miles per hour. Halfway to the tower, the trail becomes really steep, and Chantal slows down to miles per hour. After reaching the tower, she immediately turns around and descends the steep part of the trail at miles per hour. She meets Jean at the halfway point. What was Jean's average speed, in miles per hour, until they meet?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Let miles be the distance from the trailhead to the fire tower, where When Chantal meets Jean, the two have traveled for hours. At that point, Jean has traveled for miles, so his average speed is miles per hour.
Final answer
A