Problema Solution

Running at an average rate of 6 meters per second, a sprinter ran to the end of a track. The sprinter then jogged back to the starting point at an average rate of 2 meters per second. The total time for the sprint and the jog back was 2 minutes 32 seconds. Find the length of the track.

Answer provided by our tutors

2 minutes 32 seconds = 152 seconds


let 't' represent the time in seconds spent running at 6 m/s, then '152-t' represents the time in seconds spent jogging at 2 m/s


distance = speed * time


the distances were the same, therefore we set their 'speed*time' expressions equal to each other:

6t = 2(152-t)

solving for 't' we have t=38 seconds


6 m/s * 38 = 228


the length of the track was 228 m