Patrick and Eric are on the two opposite banks of a river. They both have a rowing boat.
They both start at the same time towards the opposite bank. They pass each other at 180 meters from the bank where Patrick departed. When reaching the opposite bank, they both take a rest for the same amount of time before they return. On the way back, they pass each other at 100 meters from the bank from where Patrick returned.
Patrick and Eric both row with a constant speed, but Eric rows faster.
How wide is the river?  Pick
A) 350 m  B) 250 m  C) 443 m  D) 500 m  E) 440 m
E   440 meters   Call the requested width of the river r.   The first time that Patrick and Eric meet, the total distance that they have traveled together equals the width of the river, or r. The second time that Patrick and Eric meet, the total distance that they have traveled together equals twice the width of the river plus the width of the river, so 3 × r. Because Patrick and Eric row with a constant speed, it also holds that the distance that Patrick traveled in total at the second meeting, equals 3 times the distance that Patrick traveled in total at the first meeting.   The distance that Patrick traveled in total at the first meeting is 180. The distance that Patrick traveled in total at the second meeting is r + 100. When we combine the above, we get the following equation:   3 × 180 = r + 100.   When we solve this equation we find that r = 440.   Therefore, the river is 440 meters wide.
<result>E</result>
Patrick and Eric are on the two opposite banks of a river. They both have a rowing boat.
They both start at the same time towards the opposite bank. They pass each other at 180 meters from the bank where Patrick departed. When reaching the opposite bank, they both take a rest for the same amount of time before they return. On the way back, they pass each other at 100 meters from the bank from where Patrick returned.
Patrick and Eric both row with a constant speed, but Eric rows faster.
How wide is the river?