Ezekiel's Kayak Adventure: Solving for Paddling Rate and Current Speed

What is the rate that Ezekiel paddles in still water?

What is the rate of the current?

Answer:

Ezekiel paddles a kayak 12 miles upstream in 4 hours. The return trip downstream takes him 1.5 hours. The rate that Ezekiel paddles in still water is 5.5 mi/h. The rate of the current is 2.5 mi/h.

Ezekiel embarked on an adventurous kayak journey, paddling against the flow of the river and then with the current. The data provided allows us to calculate Ezekiel's paddling rate in still water and the speed of the current.

Let the rate of Ezekiel's paddling be represented as v, and the rate of the current be represented as s. When Ezekiel paddles upstream, he covers 12 miles in 4 hours, resulting in the equation v - s = 12 / 4. On the return trip downstream, he covers the same 12 miles in 1.5 hours, leading to the equation v + s = 12 / 1.5.

By solving these two equations simultaneously using the elimination method, we can find the values of v and s. Adding the two equations, we get 2v = 11, which leads to v = 5.5 mi/h. Substituting this back into one of the original equations, we can calculate s as 2.5 mi/h.

Therefore, Ezekiel paddles at a rate of 5.5 mi/h in still water, while the current flows at a speed of 2.5 mi/h. This calculation helps us understand the dynamics of Ezekiel's kayak journey and the impact of the river current on his speed and progress.