Problema Solution
a motorcycle traveling at 70 miles per hour overtakes a car traveling at 40 miles per hour that had a three-hour head start.how far from the starting point are the two vehicles?
Answer provided by our tutors
You can make both of the vehicles into an equation:
Y=distance from starting point and x = hours. Because the car had a 3 hour headstart 40x3 = 120 miles.
Motorcycle: y = 70x
Car: y = 40x + 120
Set them equal to each other to know what time they intersect:
70x = 40x +120
30x = 120
120/30 = 4
So after 4 hours they crossed each other, but plug 4 back into either equation:
y = 70(4)
y = 280 miles.
ANSWER: THEY ARE 280 MILES FROM THE STARTING POINT!