Dick, Jane, and Sally -- all siblings who live together -- left school at the same time and walked home. Dick walked at four miles an hour, Jane walked at three miles an hour, and Sally walked at two miles an hour. Dick got home at 3 p.m. and Jane got home at 3:10 p.m. What time were they dismissed from school, how far did they walk, and when did Sally get home?

Solution to the Problem: They were dismissed from school at 2:30 PM and walked 2 miles. Sally got home at 3:30 PM. To solve this algebra problem, let x = Number of hours for Dick to walk home. Then Dick traveled 4x miles home. Jane must have traveled for x + 1/6 hours, so she walked 3x + 1/2 miles home. Since they lived at the same house, set 4x = 3x + 1/2 and solve for x. x = 1/2 hour. Since Dick arrived home at 3:00 PM, he must have been dismissed at 2:30 PM. So, the distance from home to school is 2 miles (it checks in both expressions above). Since Sally walked at 2 mph for 2 miles, it took her 1 hour to walk home. Therefore she got home at 3:30 PM.

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