GMAT Problem Solving- Jake Rides His Bike for the First 2/3 of the Distance From Home to School

Question: Jake rides his bike for the first 2/3 of the distance from home to school, traveling at 10 miles per hour. He then walks the remaining 1/3 of the distance at 3 miles per hour. If his total trip takes 40 minutes, how many miles is it from Jake's home to his school?

  1. 5/4
  2. 15/4
  3. 5
  4. 6
  5. 10

“Jake rides his bike for the first 2/3 of the distance from home to school”- is a topic of the GMAT Quantitative reasoning section of GMAT. This question has been taken from the book “GMAT Quantitative Review”. To solve GMAT Problem Solving questions a student must have knowledge about a good amount of qualitative skills. The GMAT Quant topic in the problem-solving part requires calculative mathematical problems that should be solved with proper mathematical knowledge.

Solution and Explanation:

Approach Solution 1:

Given:

  • Jake rides his bike for the first 2/3 of the distance from home to school at 10 mph
  • He walks the remaining 1/3 distance at 3 mph
  • Total travel time is 40 minutes or 2/3 hours

To find:

  • The distance between Jake’s home to his school

Approach and Working:

If we assume the total distance to be x miles, we can write

  • Distance travelled in bike = 2x/3 miles
    Hence, the time for travel by bike = (2x/3)/10 hours
    This comes down to x/15 hours.
  • Distance travelled by walking is x/3 miles.
    Therefore, the time for walking taken is (x/3)/3 hours
    This comes down to x/9 hours.

Since the total time of travel is ⅔ hours, the equation comes down to:
x/15 + x/9 = ⅔ hours
=> 8x/45 = ⅔
=> x= 90/24
=> x= 15/4 miles.

Correct Answer: B

Approach Solution 2:

Using the formula of average speed = ((p+q)*(ab)) (qa+pb)

P:q is the ratio of the distances traveled
Speeds at which the respective distances are traveled are a and b

Jake rides his bike for the first 2/3rd of the distance and
the remaining 1/3rd of the distance on foot,
making the ratio of the distances 2:1(p:q)

Jake travels by bike at speed(a)=10mph and travels by foot at speed(b)=3mph

Substituting values of a,b,p, and q, we get the value for the average speed, as follows

Average speed = ((2+1)*(10*3)) (10+6)
=> (3*30) 16
=>45/8

Therefore, the distance traveled by Jake is 40/60 * 45/8
=> 15/4

Correct Answer: B

Approach Solution 3:

The average speed formula is ((p+q)*(ab)) (qa+pb)

P:q is the ratio of travelled distances.
The corresponding lengths are covered at speeds a and b.

For the first two thirds of the route, Jake pedals his bike and
walking the final third of the journey,
Increasing the distances by a factor of 2:1 (p:q)

Jake moves at a speed of 10 mph on his bike and 3 mph on foot.

We obtain the average speed by substituting the values of a, b, p, and q.

Speed on average is ((2+1)*(10*3)) (10+6)
=> (3*30) 16
=>45/8

As a result, Jake travelled a distance of 40/60 * 45/8.
=> 15/4

Correct Answer: B

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