Two men starting at a point on a circular 1-mile race track walk in opposite directions with uniform speeds and meet in 6 minutes, but if they walk in the same direction, it requires one hr for the faster walker to gain a lap. What is the rate of the slower walker?

The rate of the slower walker is 4.5 mph.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let the speed of the faster walker is x mph and that of the slower walker is y mph.

So, when they are moving in the opposite direction starting from the same point at the same time, then their resultant speed id (x + y) mph

Now, given that, ............. (1)

Again, when they are moving in the same direction, then their resultant speed will be (x - y) mph.

And as per the given conditions,

............. (2)

Now, solving equations (1) and (2) we get,

2x = 11

⇒ x = 5.5 mph and from equation (2),

y = x - 1 = 4.5 mph.

Therefore, the rate of the slower walker is 4.5 mph. (Answer)

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