Do bicycle riders start from the same point and ride in opposite directions. Rider x moves twice as fast a rider y and In three hours they are 72 miles apart

Complete question:

Two bicycle riders start from the same point and ride in opposite directions. Rider x moves twice as fast as rider y and in three hours they are 72 miles apart. Find the rate (speed) of each rider.

y = 8 miles/hour

x = 16 miles/hour

Step-by-step explanation:

We can solve this question by first setting up the following equations:

Rider x travels twice as fast as rider y:

x = 2*y                - Equation 1

In three hours they are 72 miles apart:

3*x + 3*y = 72              -Equation 2

Solving equations 1 and 2 simultaneously we get:

y = 8 miles/hour

x = 16 miles/hour

This question is done simply by writing down the question statements as equations. This can be seen being done in Equation 1 and Equation 2 above.