Question

A boat has a rip-hole in the bottom while 20 miles away from the shore. The water comes in at a rate of 1.5 tons every minute, and the boat would sink after 70 tons of water came in. How fast must the boat go in order to reach the shore before sinking?

Answer 1

t = 70 tons/1.5 tons/min = 46.7 min = 2800 sec before boat sinks

S = V * t

V = S / t = 20 mi * 5280 ft/mi / 2800 sec = 37.7 ft/sec

Since 88 ft/sec = 60 mph

the speed is 60 * 37.7 / 88 = 25.7 mph