Problema Solution

The Hare and the Tortoise are running a 100 metre race. The Hare can run 20 metres every 5 seconds, while the Tortoise ambles along at 2 metres every 5 seconds. Confident of an easy win, the Hare stops to nibble on some tasty wild carrots nearby. If the race ends in a tie, for how long did the Hare stop?

Answer provided by our tutors

We can use the general equation Distance=Rate*time to solve this problem:


Tortoise

100m=(2/5 m/s)T1


From this, we can get the time of the race:

T1=250s


Now we can find how long it would take the hare to finish:

100m=(20/5 m/s)T2

T2=25s


We can subtract T2 from T1 to discover how long the hare stopped for:

Rest=250-25=225s