A car travels $\frac{3}{4}$th of the distance at a speed of $60 \text{ km/hr}$ and the remaining $\frac{1}{4}$th of the distance at a speed of $v \text{ km/hr}$. If the average speed for the full journey is $50 \text{ km/hr}$, then the value of $v$ is
The journey is in two parts.
Part 1: Distance $D_1 = \frac{3}{4}D$, Speed $S_1 = 60 \text{ km/hr}$.
Time taken for Part 1: $T_1 = \frac{D_1}{S_1} = \frac{\frac{3}{4}D}{60} = \frac{3D}{240} = \frac{D}{80}$ hours.
Part 2: Distance $D_2 = D – D_1 = D – \frac{3}{4}D = \frac{1}{4}D$. Speed $S_2 = v \text{ km/hr}$.
Time taken for Part 2: $T_2 = \frac{D_2}{S_2} = \frac{\frac{1}{4}D}{v} = \frac{D}{4v}$ hours.
Total distance for the journey is $D$.
Total time for the journey is $T_{total} = T_1 + T_2 = \frac{D}{80} + \frac{D}{4v}$.
The average speed for the full journey is given as $50 \text{ km/hr}$.
Average Speed = $\frac{\text{Total Distance}}{\text{Total Time}}$
$50 = \frac{D}{\frac{D}{80} + \frac{D}{4v}}$
We can factor out $D$ from the denominator:
$50 = \frac{D}{D\left(\frac{1}{80} + \frac{1}{4v}\right)}$
$50 = \frac{1}{\frac{1}{80} + \frac{1}{4v}}$
Taking the reciprocal of both sides:
$\frac{1}{50} = \frac{1}{80} + \frac{1}{4v}$
Now, solve for $v$:
$\frac{1}{4v} = \frac{1}{50} – \frac{1}{80}$
Find a common denominator for the right side, which is 400:
$\frac{1}{4v} = \frac{8}{400} – \frac{5}{400}$
$\frac{1}{4v} = \frac{8 – 5}{400}$
$\frac{1}{4v} = \frac{3}{400}$
Cross-multiply:
$4v \times 3 = 1 \times 400$
$12v = 400$
Divide by 12:
$v = \frac{400}{12}$
Simplify the fraction by dividing numerator and denominator by their greatest common divisor, which is 4:
$v = \frac{400 \div 4}{12 \div 4} = \frac{100}{3}$
The value of $v$ is $\frac{100}{3} \text{ km/hr}$.
– Calculating time taken for each segment of the journey.
– Setting up and solving an equation based on the given average speed.
The reciprocal formula for average speed when different distances are covered at different speeds is not directly applicable here in its simplest form, but the fundamental definition always works.
Note that $100/3$ km/hr is approximately $33.33$ km/hr.