brad and gary threw countless water balloons at each other. But even though they were only 50 feet apart, none hit. Now the two boys are charging with squirt guns. If brad runs at 4.5 feet per second and gary runs at 5.5 feet per second, and neither one trips, how many seconds will it be before they're face to face?

1 answer

To find out how long it will take for Brad and Gary to meet face to face, we can first determine their relative speeds and then calculate the time required to cover the distance between them.

Brad is running at a speed of 4.5 feet per second and Gary is running at a speed of 5.5 feet per second. Since they are running towards each other, we can add their speeds together to find their combined speed:

\[ \text{Combined Speed} = 4.5 , \text{feet/second} + 5.5 , \text{feet/second} = 10 , \text{feet/second} \]

Next, we know they are initially 50 feet apart. To find the time it takes for them to meet, we can use the formula:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Speed}} \]

Substituting the values we have:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{50 , \text{feet}}{10 , \text{feet/second}} = 5 , \text{seconds} \]

Therefore, it will take 5 seconds for Brad and Gary to meet face to face.