Answer:
First belt: 7.5 ft/sec
Second belt: 2.5 ft/sec
Explanation:
Let s represent the speed of the 1st belt.
Distance of the 1st belt = 300ft
So time = distance / speed = 300 / s .............Equation 1
Speed of the 2nd belt = (s - 5)
Distance of the 2nd belt = 100 ft
So time = distance / speed = 100 / (s - 5) .........................Equation 2
Since an apple spends the same time on each belt, we can equate both equations for time and solve for s;
[tex]\begin{gathered} \frac{300}{s}=\frac{100}{s-5} \\ 300(s-5)=100s \\ 300s-1500=100s \\ 300s-100s=1500 \\ 200s=1500 \\ s=\frac{1500}{200} \\ s=7.5\text{ ft/sec} \end{gathered}[/tex]
Since the speed of the first belt is 7.5ft/sec, we can go ahead and solve for the speed of the 2nd given that it 5ft/sec slower than the 1st;
[tex]\text{ Sp}eed\text{ of the 2nd belt=}7.5-5=2.5\text{ ft/sec}[/tex]