Problema Solution

Problem Solution

An airplane leaves Los Angeles bound for Caracas, Venezuela, flying at an average rate of 870 mph. At the same time, another airplane leaves Caracas bound for Los Angeles, averaging 600 mph. If the airports are 3,675 miles apart, when will the air traffic controllers have to make the pilots aware that the planes are passing each other?

Answer provided by our tutors

Let

v1 = 870 mph the rate from LA to Caracas

v2 = 600 mph the rate from Caracas to LA

d = 3,675 the distance between the airports

t = the time of the flying until the moment they meet

Using the formula distance = average rate * time we can write:

v1*t + v2*t = 3675

870t + 600t = 3675

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Click here to see the step by step solution for t

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t = 2.5 hr

The air controllers should make the pilots aware that the planes will be passing each other in 2.5 hours.