During the first part of a trip, a canoeist travels82 miles at a certain speed.The canoeist travels36miles on

Question

During the first part of a trip, a canoeist travels 82 miles at a certain speed. The canoeist travels36 miles on the second part of the trip at a speed 5 mph slower. The total time for the trip is 3 hrs. What was the speed on each part of the trip?

Answer 1

82miles at x m/hr + 36miles at (x-5)m/hr = 3 hrs

See what you can do with that.  Good luck.  :)

Answer 2

v_1*t_1 + v_2*t_2 = total distance = 118 mi

t_1 + t_2 = 3 hrs

t_2 = 3 - t_1

v_2 = v_1 - 5mph

v_1*t_1 + (v_1 - 5) * (3 - t_1) = 118 mi

You have 2 unknowns and 1 equation so the problem is unsolvable. Either I read something wrong or you left something out. If you meant there are 2 HALVES to the trip then t_1 = t_2 = 1.5 hrs then you can solve for the velocity of the first half of the trip which then gives you the second velocity when you subtract 5 mph but otherwise it needs more info.