Question

Two cars are driving toward each other from opposite directions. If one is driving 55 mph, the other is driving 60 mph and the cars are 500 miles apart, how long will it be before they pass each other? Round to the nearest tenth of an hour

Answer 1

Let x = the 55 mph car.
and y = the 60 mph car.
I have tried to draw it below using periods as spacers (since these boards don't recognize more than one space.).
(55 mph)x->................<-y (60 mph)
........|--------------------|
........|...d..|....500-d....|
So car x will go a distance of d and car y will go a distance of 500-d. The time will be d = rate*time and time=d/r. The time will be equal; therefore,
(d/55) = (500-d)/60
Solve for d which will tell you how far car x and car y traveled, then use d = r*t and some for time. My calculations give a little over 4 hours for each. Post your work if you get stuck.