Answer:
24 minutes
Step-by-step explanation:
Let t represent the time in hours it took Courtney to get to the library. Then the time it took to get to school was (t-4/60). The relationship between speed and distance is ...
speed × time = distance
We can add up the two distances traveled and make sure it totals 15 miles:
25 × t + 15 × (t-4/60) = 15
25t + 15t - 1 = 15 . . . . . . . . . eliminate parentheses
40t = 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . add 1, collect terms
16/40 = t = 24/60 . . . . . . . . divide by the coefficient of t, convert to minutes
It took Courtney 24 minutes to get to the library.
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Comment on minutes and hours
A minute is 1/60 of an hour, so 4 minutes is 4/60 = 1/15 of an hour, and 2/5 or 4/10 of an hour is 24/60 hours, or 24 minutes.