Can anyone figure out this math problem?
Question by Tyler S: Can anyone figure out this math problem?
So this is a math problem my Professor gave me, its supposed to be a letter sent to myself and I have to help this lawyer out. My professor said it just involves simple math but I still cant seem to figure out how to do it.. Thanks for the help
I’m a new lawyer at a prestigious law firm here in Big City, PU. Our firm was recently engaged to argue the speeding ticket of one Billy B. Bartholomew, owner of the Bartholomew Bicycle Barn. Since speeding tickets are, quite frankly, low on the firm’s list of publicity-generating cases, it was assigned to the new-comer (i.e., me).
It’s my first case and, even though it’s not a life-and-death matter, I’d still like to do a good job. The problem is,
I’ve gotten in over my head with the mathematics involved, and so I was hoping that you could help me. It was
your intrepid and enterprising professor, Dr. Wendt, who referred me to you.
Billy lives in Wheeling, PU, a suburb of Big City, where she runs her Bicycle Barn. Several Fridays ago, she
peddled over the hills to a nearby town, Speedwell Valley, to give a demonstration for some bicycle enthusiasts.
(She did not know at the time that one of these was an undercover police officer). Now, Speedwell Valley is a
conservative town, with some obscure and out-dated laws on their books. A former mayor of Speedwell Valley,
Mayor Gotcher, used to own the trolley that ran from Speedwell Valley through the hills to Wheeling and then
back again. To protect his financial interests, he passed a law stating that anyone making the trip from Wheeling
to Speedwell Valley faster than his trolley would be fined a “speeding” ticket of no more than 0.
On the day that Billy rode to Speedwell Valley, she had used a speedometer to record her speed. For the first
5 miles out of Wheeling, which were flat, she traveled at a constant rate of 25 miles per hour. The next 5 miles
were up-hill, and so she slowed down then to 15 miles per hour until she reached the top of the hill. Then she
dashed down-hill for 5 miles to her destination, traveling this last leg at 35 miles per hour. Her presentation used
the recorded data from her own trip to show how cyclists can work on maintaining a constant pace (which Billy
did admirably, everybody agreed).
However, as Billy was leaving, the police officer confronted her and charged her with exceeding the Gotcher
speed limit. Since she traveled at an average of 25 miles per hour for the whole trip (averaging the three speeds),
he points out that it must have taken her a mere 36 minutes to cycle from her home to the demonstration, and
therefore she traveled faster than the trolley (which took 40 minutes).
Billy swears that it took her just above 40 minutes to make the trip, but she also claims that her bicycling data
is accurate. Now I’m stuck: can Billy be telling the truth? But if so, how? And if not, how do I defend her
against these accusations?
This is why I’m asking you for help—in hopes that you can answer these questions for me. If there is any
way that you can find an answer to this dilemma, I’d be incredibly grateful. I would appreciate an answer as soon
as possible, but certainly no later than February 28, as our preliminary hearing is the day after.
Yours sincerely,
E. Noether, Attorney
Larry’s Law Firm
So I have to somehow come up with some math to support that she wasnt speeding.. The numbers seem to add up saying that she was, Im guessing it has something to do with the hills she was traveling across? Thanks for any help that you can give me
Best answer:
Answer by Richard S
After you run this question through a vat of stripper you have 5 mi @ 25 mph, 5 mi @ 15 mph, and 5 mi @ 35mph. Think of the t5ime for each part of the trip:
5 mi @ 25 mph takes 1/5 of an hour… 12 minutes.
5 mi @ 15 mph takes 1/3 of an hour… 20 minutes.
5 mi @ 35 mph takes 1/7 of an hour… 8.6 min.
Total: 40 min. 36 seconds.
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