The track team is trying to reduce their time for a relay race. First they reduce their time by 2.1 minutes. Then they are able to reduce that time by 1/10. If their final time is 3.96 minutes, what was their beginning time?

What was the track teams initial relay time in minutes?

Answer: 15.7 minutes

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x be the time in the beginning (in minutes).

Given: The track team is trying to reduce their time for a relay race.

First they reduce their time by 2.1 minutes.

Then they are able to reduce that time by 10

If their final time is 3.96 minutes, then

x-t1-t2 = 3.6

x = 3.6 + t1 + t2

x = 3.6 + 2.1 + 10

x = 15.7

Hence, their beginning time was 15.7 minutes.