A person in a rowboat 2 miles from the nearest point on a straight shoreline wishes to reach his house which is 6 miles farther down the shore. If he can row at a rate of 6 miles per hour and run at a rate of 10 miles per hour, what is the minimum amount of time (in minutes) it will take him to get home?
A) 68 minutes
B) 45 minutes
C) 52 minutes
D) 73 minutes

Question

A person in a rowboat 2 miles from the nearest point on a straight shoreline wishes to reach his house which is 6 miles farther down the shore. If he can row at a rate of 6 miles per hour and run at a rate of 10 miles per hour, what is the minimum amount of time (in minutes) it will take him to get home? 
A) 68 minutes 
B) 45 minutes 
C) 52 minutes 
D) 73 minutes

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The person can row 2 miles to the shoreline in $\frac{2}{6} = \frac{1}{3}$ hours or 20 minutes.
Then the person needs to run the remaining distance of $6 - 2 = 4$ miles at a rate of 10 mph, which takes $\frac{4}{10} = \frac{2}{5}$ hours or 24 minutes.
So the total time it takes is 20 + 24 = 44 minutes, which is closest to Choice C, 52 minutes.

A Person in a Rowboat 2 Miles from the Nearest