The time taken by a boat to travel a certain distance upstream is equal to the time taken by it to travel 2.5 times the same distance downstream. The speed of the boat in still water is 7 km/h. How much time (in hours) will the boat take to travel 20 km upstream and 36 km downstream?
Solution
✅ Correct Option: 1
Let the speed of the stream be $s$ km/h. Upstream speed $=7-s$ and downstream speed $=7+s$. The time for a distance $d$ upstream equals the time for $2.5d$ downstream: $\dfrac{d}{7-s}=\dfrac{2.5d}{7+s}$ $7+s=2.5(7-s)$ $s=3$ Upstream speed $=4$ km/h and downstream speed $=10$ km/h. Required time $=\dfrac{20}{4}+\dfrac{36}{10}=5+3.6=8.6$ hours.