Problema Solution

Two cars are 206 miles apart and traveing toward each other. One car travels 7 mph faster than the other car. The cars meet in 2 hour. Find the speed of the faster car.

Answer provided by our tutors

let 'v' represent the velocity of the slower car, then 'v+7' represents the velocity of the faster car, in mph

let 'd' represent the distance travelled by the slower car, then '206-d' represents the distance travelled by the faster car, in miles


distance = rate * time

therefore:

time = distance / rate


both cars travelled 2 hours, so we can derive the following equations:

for the slower car:

2 = d / v

for the faster car:

2 = (206-d)/(v+7)


solving this system of equations:

2 = d / v

2 = (206-d)/(v+7)

we have:

d = 96

v = 48


48+7=55


the slower car was travelling at 48 mph, the faster car was travelling at 55 mph