Question: In training for a competition, you find that swimming downstream (with the current) in a river, you can swim 2 miles in 40 minutes, & upstream (against the current), you can swim 2 miles in 60 minutes. How long would it take you to swim a mile in still water?
Answer:
You are able to swim downstream at 3 miles an hour, & upstream at 2 miles an hour. There is difference of 1 mile an hour, which is the river helping you in 1 direction, & slowing you in the other direction. Average the 2 rates, & you have the rate that you can swim in still water, which is 2.5
miles an hour. You can thus swim a mile in still water in 24 minutes.