Between 1497 and 1500, Amerigo Vespucci embarked on two voyages to the the New World. According to Vespucci's letters, the first voyage lasted 43 days longer than the second voyage, and the two voyages combined lasted a total of 1003 days. How many days did the second voyage last?

The second voyage lasted 480 days

Step-by-step explanation:

We are asked to calculate the number of days in which the second voyage lasted given the difference between the number of days the two voyages lasted.

To solve this problem, we first assign variables. Let the number of days the first voyage lasted be f while the number of days the second voyage lasted be s.

We know that the first voyage lasted 43 more days than the second voyage.

Mathematically, f = 43 + s ... (I)

Also, the two voyages combined lasted 1003 days. Mathematically:

f + s = 1003 ... (ii)

We substitute i into ii

43 + s + s = 1003

43 + 2s = 1003

2s = 1003 - 43

2s = 960

s = 960/2 = 480 days