Problema Solution

A hyena spots a giraffe .5 miles away and begins running toward it. The giraffe starts running away from the hyena just as the hyena begins running toward it. A hyena can run at a speed of 40 mph and a giraffe can run at 32 mph. How long will it take for the hyena to overtake the giraffe?

Answer provided by our tutors

let


v1 = 40 mph the speed of the hyena


v2 = 32 mph the speed of the giraffe


t = the time needed for the hyena to overtake the giraffe


the distance that the hyena will run is: v1*t = 40t


the distance that the giraffe will run is: v2*t = 32t


the hyena will run 0.5 mi more than the giraffe thus we can write:


32t + 0.5 = 40t


by solving we find:


t = 1/16 hr


t = 60/16 min


t = 3.75 min


t = 3 min 0.75*60 sec


t = 3 min 45 sec


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the hyena will need 3 minutes and 45 seconds to overtake the giraffe.