It took a total of 10 hours to hike from the base of a mountain to the top and back by the same route. Going up speed was 2 miles per hour. Going down speed was 3 miles per hour. How far from base to top? A) 6 B) 10 C) 12 D) 14 E) 24 Solution Let the distance from the base to the mountain top = x Going up speed was 2 miles per hour Time taken = x/2 Going down speed was 3 miles per hour. Time taken = x/3 Total time taken is x/2+x/3 = 10 (3x+2x)/6 = 10 5x = 60 x = 60/5 x = 12 miles.