/*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} Problem 11 A fair fare. Three strangers, Bo... [FREE SOLUTION] | 91Ó°ÊÓ

91Ó°ÊÓ

A fair fare. Three strangers, Bob, Mary, and Ivan, meet at a taxi stand and decide to share a cab to cut down the cost. Each has a different destination, but all the destinations are on the highway leading from the airport, so no circuitous driving is required. Bob's destination is 10 miles away, Mary's is 20 miles, and Ivan's is 30 miles. The taxi costs \(\$ 1.50\) per mile including the tip, regardless of the number of passengers. How much should each person pay? (Caution: There is more than one way of looking at this situation.)

Short Answer

Expert verified
Bob pays $7.50, Mary pays $15, Ivan pays $22.50, based on passenger-miles.

Step by step solution

01

Calculate the Total Distance

All together, from the starting point to the final stop, the taxi covers 30 miles. This is the distance from the starting point to Ivan's destination, which is the furthest.
02

Determine the Total Fare

Since the taxi costs $1.50 per mile, the total fare for the entire trip is calculated by multiplying the total distance by the cost per mile: \[ 1.50 \text{ dollars/mile} \times 30 \text{ miles} = 45 \text{ dollars} \]This is the total cost for the trip.
03

Assign Costs Based on Distance

Bob travels 10 miles, Mary travels 20 miles, and Ivan travels 30 miles. We can assign costs based on the distance each person travels. Bob pays \[ 1.50 \times 10 = 15 \text{ dollars} \]Mary pays \[ 1.50 \times 20 = 30 \text{ dollars} \]Ivan pays \[ 1.50 \times 30 = 45 \text{ dollars} \].
04

Consider Equal Share Approach

Another way to understand the fare split is to consider the total cost shared equally based on the total distance covered (30 miles total and 60 passenger-miles overall: 10 for Bob, 20 for Mary, and 30 for Ivan). The fare per passenger-mile is calculated as the total cost of 45 dollars divided by the total 60 passenger-miles:\[ \frac{45}{60} = 0.75 \text{ dollars per passenger-mile} \].Bob should pay \[ 0.75 \times 10 = 7.50 \text{ dollars} \],Mary pays \[ 0.75 \times 20 = 15 \text{ dollars} \],and Ivan pays \[ 0.75 \times 30 = 22.50 \text{ dollars} \].

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with 91Ó°ÊÓ!

Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Cost Sharing
When people decide to share a cost, it means they are looking to divide an expense among themselves. This makes it affordable and fair for everyone involved. In the taxi problem, cost sharing allows Bob, Mary, and Ivan to split the ride cost. Together, they all benefit by paying less than they would have individually.

For this scenario, there are multiple ways to distribute the costs among passengers:
  • **By Distance: **Each pays according to the number of miles they travel.
  • **Equally: **Each shares an equal part of the total.
Both methods have their own reasoning, and understanding each thoroughly can help in more complex real-life situations too. Ultimately, cost sharing helps everyone involved to save money, while ensuring fair payment methods.
Proportional Reasoning
Proportional reasoning is a key mathematical concept that allows comparisons to be made rationally and fairly. It means understanding relationships between numbers based on multiplication and division.

In the taxi scenario, we see how the fare can be assigned differently by employing proportional reasoning. Using this approach involves:
  • **Calculating Total Costs: **Understand how each person's share relates to the total miles, like assigning costs per mile.
  • **Distance Relationships: **Realize that as each person travels a different distance, their share should reflect that.
By using proportional reasoning, Bob pays en route to his stop, while Mary and Ivan also pay for the further distances. It helps to ensure each payment is proportional to the distance they traveled. Essentially, this approach not only clarifies payment allocation using a distance-based strategy but also highlights equal sharing.
Problem-Solving Strategies
Effective problem-solving strategies are vital to tackle challenges in both math and daily life. They involve logical thinking and the ability to apply various strategies to find a solution. In this taxi fare exercise, these strategies can be seen in use:
  • **Identifying the Problem: **Determine that sharing costs equally or by distance is the issue.
  • **Exploring Options: **Looking at more than one way to calculate the shares for an appropriate solution.
  • **Solving Step by Step: **Breakdown of the problem into smaller parts to ensure understanding.
In the taxi problem, first, identify the total cost, then use different strategies for dividing it.
By honing such problem-solving abilities, you'll be equipped to handle similar issues with ease, not just in mathematics but in any collaborative financial effort.

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Getting a pole on a bus. For his 13 th birthday, Adam was allowed to travel down to Sarah's Sporting Goods store to purchase a brand new fishing pole. With great excitement and anticipation, Adam boarded the bus on his own and arrived at Sarah's store. Although the collection of fishing poles was tremendous, there was only one pole for Adam and he bought it: a 5-foot, one- piece fiberglass "Trout Troller570 "fi shing pole. When Adam's return bus arrived, the driver reported that Adam could not board the bus with the fishing pole. Objects longer than 4 feet were not allowed on the bus. Adam remained at the bus stop holding his beautiful 5 -foot Trout Troller. Sarah, who had observed the whole ordeal, rushed out and said, "We'll get your fishing pole on the bus!" Sure enough, when the same bus and the same driver returned, Adam boarded the bus with his fishing pole, and the driver welcomed him aboard with a smile. How was Sarah able to have Adam board the bus with his 5 -foot fishing pole without breaking or bending the bus-line rules or the pole?

Penny for your thoughts. Some number of pennies are spread out on a table. They lie either heads up or tails up (see the figure on the next page). Unfortunately, you are blindfolded and thus both the coins and the table upon which they sit are hidden from view. You can feel your way across the table and thus can count the total number of pennies on the table's surface, but you cannot determine if any individual penny rests heads up or down (perhaps you're wearing gloves). You are informed of one fact (beyond the total number of pennies on the table): Someone tells you the number of pennies that are lying heads up. While remaining blindfolded, you may now rearrange the coins, turn any of them over, and move them in any way you wish as long as the final configuration has all the pennies resting (heads or tails up) on the table. Your challenge is to arrange the pennies into two collections and then turn over whatever pennies you wish so that both collections have the same number of heads-up pennies.

A commuter fly. A passenger train left Austin, Texas, at 12:00 p.m. bound for Dallas, exactly 210 miles away; it traveled at a steady 50 miles per hour. At the same instant, a freight train left Dallas headed for Austin on the same track, traveling at 20 miles per hour. At this same high noon, a fly leaped from the nose of the passenger train and flew along the track at 100 miles per hour. When the fly touched the nose of the oncoming freight train, she turned and flew back along the track at 100 miles per hour toward the passenger train. When she reached the nose of the passenger train, she instantly turned and flew back toward the freight train. She continued turning and flying until, you guessed it, she was squashed as the trains collided head on. How far had the fly flown before her untimely demise?

Siegfried \& You. Consider the following mathematical illusion. A regular deck of 52 playing cards is shuffled several times by an audience member until everyone agrees that the cards are completely shuffled. Then, without looking at the cards themselves, the magician divides the deck into two equal piles of 26 cards. The magician taps both piles of face-down cards three times. Then, one by one the cards of both piles are revealed. Magically, the magician was able to have the cards arrange themselves so that the number of cards showing black suits in the first pile is identical to the number of cards showing red suits in the second pile. Your challenge is to figure out the secret to this illusion and thén perform it for your friends

Two rooms are connected by a hallway that has a bend in it so that it is impossible to see one room while standing in the other. One of the rooms has three light switches. You are told that exactly one of the switches turns on a light in the other room, and the other two are not connected to any lights. What is the fewest number of times you would have to walk to the other room to figure out which switch turns on the light? And the follow-up question is: Why is the answer to the preceding question "one"? (Look out: This question uses properties of real lights as well as logic.)

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Math Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.