Question

A child is running on a moving sidewalk in an airport. when she runs against the sidewalk's motion, she travels 24ft in 6 seconds. when she runs with the sidewalk's motion, she travels the same distance in 2 seconds. what is the rate of the child on a still sidewalk and what is the rate of the moving sidewalk?

Answer 1

To find each rate you could write each one as a fraction, in this case when the child runs against the sidewalk it can be expressed as 24/6. Simplify the fraction by dividing numerator and denominator both by 6 and you will get a rate of 4 ft in 1 second. When the child runs with the sidewalk's motion the fraction would be 24/2. Simplify the numerator and denominator by 2 and you will get a rate of 12 ft in 1 second.