- #1
Wolfowitz
- 12
- 0
Toward the end of Middle School, I always knew it would come time for me to confront my algebraic innumeracy by means of rigorous and meticulous study of textbooks made available to me by friends who have taken Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 courses, to acquaint myself with what I need to know in order to take a set of courses that are math-intensive. I ask that you squelch whatever thoughts you have about me, a Grade 11 student who should be able to solve such problems without worry.
Below is the question that stultifies me, accompanied by my uneasy undertaking to solve it.
s = d/t, I imagine.
3. Attempt at a solution
a. I'm confident with my response to this one:
47x, 'x' being the number of hours the gazelle spent travelling: the totality of this expression upon the value of 'x' being discerned would represent distance travelled.
b. I'm confident with my response to this one, too:
65x, 'x' being the number of hours the cheetah spent travelling.
c. Here's where it gets tricky (for me). What I got was:
65x - 1
My reasoning, simple: it takes x hours for the cheetah to catch the gazelle. I don't exactly know how the -1 comes into play here (and not +1, considering he has to run another mile).
d. 65x = 47x + 1
[Subtract 47x from both sides]
18x = 1
x = 1/18
It would take 1/18 of an hour for the cheetah to catch up to the gazelle.
If we take what I initially suspected the answer to 'c' to be, we get a negative yielding, which is totally implausible:
65x + 1 = 47x
65x = 57x - 1
18x = -1
x = -1/18
Am I even on the right track?
Below is the question that stultifies me, accompanied by my uneasy undertaking to solve it.
Homework Statement
Homework Equations
s = d/t, I imagine.
3. Attempt at a solution
a. I'm confident with my response to this one:
47x, 'x' being the number of hours the gazelle spent travelling: the totality of this expression upon the value of 'x' being discerned would represent distance travelled.
b. I'm confident with my response to this one, too:
65x, 'x' being the number of hours the cheetah spent travelling.
c. Here's where it gets tricky (for me). What I got was:
65x - 1
My reasoning, simple: it takes x hours for the cheetah to catch the gazelle. I don't exactly know how the -1 comes into play here (and not +1, considering he has to run another mile).
d. 65x = 47x + 1
[Subtract 47x from both sides]
18x = 1
x = 1/18
It would take 1/18 of an hour for the cheetah to catch up to the gazelle.
If we take what I initially suspected the answer to 'c' to be, we get a negative yielding, which is totally implausible:
65x + 1 = 47x
65x = 57x - 1
18x = -1
x = -1/18
Am I even on the right track?