Jonathan drove to the airport to pick up his friend. A rainstorm forced him to drive at an average speed of 45 miles per hour, reaching the airport in 3 hours. He drove back home at an average speed of 55 miles per hour. How long, to the nearest tenth of an hour ,did trip home take him?

Options

A. 2.0 hours
B. 2.5 hours
C. 2.8 hours
D. 3.7 hours

Answer

To solve the problem step by step, we will use the relationship between speed, distance, and time. The formula we will use is:

\[ \text{Speed} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Time}} \]

### Step 1: Calculate the Distance to the Airport
Jonathan drove to the airport at an average speed of 45 miles per hour for 3 hours. We can find the distance to the airport using the formula:

\[ \text{Distance} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} \]

Substituting the known values:

\[ \text{Distance} = 45 \, \text{miles/hour} \times 3 \, \text{hours} = 135 \, \text{miles} \]

### Step 2: Set Up the Equation for the Return Trip
Now that we know the distance to the airport is 135 miles, we can calculate the time taken for the return trip home at an average speed of 55 miles per hour. We will use the same formula rearranged to find time:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Speed}} \]

Substituting the known values for the return trip:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{135 \, \text{miles}}{55 \, \text{miles/hour}} \]

### Step 3: Calculate the Time for the Return Trip
Now we perform the division:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{135}{55} \approx 2.4545 \, \text{hours} \]

### Step 4: Round to the Nearest Tenth
To find the time to the nearest tenth of an hour, we round 2.4545:

\[ \text{Time} \approx 2.5 \, \text{hours} \]

### Final Answer
The trip home took Jonathan approximately **2.5 hours**.

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