Problema Solution
John and joe are digging a trench towards each other. They start digging at the same time. John digs at a rate of 0.2 foot per minute faster than joe and they meet after 84 minutes. If the trench is 67.2 feet long, find their speeds.
Answer provided by our tutors
Let
v = the rate of Joe, v>0
v + 0.2 = the rate of John( 0.2 foot per min faster)
t = 84 min the time both of the do the digging
since distance = rate*time and they travel towards each other till the meet, the sum of their distances is equal to the length of the trench:
v*t + (v + 0.2)*t = 67.2
84*v + (v + 0.2)*84 = 67.2
by solving we find
v = 0.3 ft per min
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v + 0.2 = 0.3 + 0.2 = 0.5 ft per min
John's speed is 0.5 ft per min.
Joe's speed is 0.3 ft per min.