Justin Time was on a gruelling trip from his hometown of Neutron to the town of Proton. Justin and his bicycle were able to hitch a ride to the town of Electron, which was exactly halfway to Proton. The ride lasted one hour, and was ten times faster than if Justin had cycled the same distance. When Justin got out of the car at Electron he noticed his tyre was flat, which meant walking the rest of the way to Proton. Walking took him twice as long as cycling. When Justin finally reached Proton, he repaired his bicycle tyre and rode the entire distance home to Neutron. How much time did each trip take and which of the two was the faster?
Answer
The return trip was the faster. Since it was one hour to Electron by car, which was ten times faster than cycling, the time from Electron to Proton took an additional 20 hours since he walked, and walking took twice as long as cycling. Therefore, the first half of the trip took a total of 21 hours. The return trip took Justin 20 hours, since he cycled the entire distance and cycling is twice as fast as walking.
