A boat has a speed of 5 mph in calm water. It takes the boat 3 hours to travel upstream but only 2 hours to travel the same distance downstream. Using the data in the table, what is the value of c, the speed of the current?

Traveling upstream the net speed of the boat is the difference of the speed of the boat and speed of the current. For downstream, the net speed is the sum of their speeds. The distance traveled by the body is the product of its speed and the time. The equation that is describe in the problem is,

(5 + c) x 2 = (5 - c) x 3

The value of c is equal to 1 mph.

Here is the appropriate answer

first step: 2 (5+c) = 3 (5-c)

second step, solve for c: 10+2c=15-3c

finally: 5c=5 c=1