Mr. Langendorfer drove his car steadily at 40 miles per hour for 120 miles. He then increased his speed and drove the next 120 miles at 60 miles per hour. What was his average speed?

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To find the average rate of speed (mph), dividethedistance he covered by the time he spent traveling(R = D;T).In this example, begin by finding the distance traveled. 120+ 120 = 240miles (distance) Next find the length of rime he traveled. At the beginning of his trip, he drove 120 miles at 40 mph. 120 / 40 = 3 hours (first part of trip) Later, he increased his speed. 120 / 60 = 2 hours (second part of trip) Altogether, he traveled for 5 hours. Now apply the formula for finding his average rate of speed D / T = 240 / 5 = 48 mph (rate of speed)

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