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Arun drove from home to his hostel at 6060 miles per hour. While returning home he drove half way along the same route at a speed of 2525 miles per hour and then took a bypass road which increased his driving distance by 55 miles, but allowed him to drive at 5050 miles per hour along this bypass road. If his return journey took 3030 minutes more than his onward journey, then the total distance traveled by him is

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 3

Let's break down what's happening in Arun's journey:

Onward Journey: Home → Hostel at 60 mph (straight route)

Return Journey:

First half: Same route at 25 mph

Second half: Bypass road (5 miles longer) at 50 mph

Key Information: Return journey took 30 minutes (0.5 hours) more than onward journey.


Let the distance from home to hostel = x miles

Time for onward journey = x60\dfrac{x}{60} hours

The return journey has two parts:

Part 1: Half the original distance at 25 mph

Distance = x2\dfrac{x}{2} miles

Time = x/225=x50\dfrac{x/2}{25} = \dfrac{x}{50} hours

Part 2: Remaining distance + 5 extra miles on bypass at 50 mph

Distance = x2+5\dfrac{x}{2} + 5 miles

Time = (x/2+5)50\dfrac{(x/2 + 5)}{50} hours

Total return time = x50+(x/2+5)50\dfrac{x}{50} + \dfrac{(x/2 + 5)}{50}


Since return journey took 0.5 hours more than onward journey:

x50+(x/2+5)50=x60+0.5\dfrac{x}{50} + \dfrac{(x/2 + 5)}{50} = \dfrac{x}{60} + 0.5


Combining fractions on the left side:

x50+x/2+550=x+x/2+550=1.5x+550\dfrac{x}{50} + \dfrac{x/2 + 5}{50} = \dfrac{x + x/2 + 5}{50} = \dfrac{1.5x + 5}{50}

The equation becomes:

1.5x+550=x60+0.5\dfrac{1.5x + 5}{50} = \dfrac{x}{60} + 0.5

Multiplying everything by 300 (LCM of 50 and 60):

6(1.5x+5)=5x+1506(1.5x + 5) = 5x + 150

9x+30=5x+1509x + 30 = 5x + 150

9x−5x=150−309x - 5x = 150 - 30

4x=1204x = 120

x=30x = 30


Now that we know the one-way distance is 30 miles:

Onward Journey: 30 miles

Return Journey:

First half on original route: 15 miles

Second half on bypass: 15 + 5 = 20 miles

Total Distance = 30 + 15 + 20 = 65 miles


Therefore, the total distance traveled by Arun is 65 miles.

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