Two airplanes leave Boston at 12:00 noon and fly in opposite directions. If one flies at 410 mph and one flies at 530 miles per hour, how long will it take them to be 3290 mi apart?

Answer 1

To find out how long it will take for the two airplanes to be 3290 miles apart, we first need to determine their combined speed. When two objects move away from each other, their distances add up.

The speed of the first airplane is 410 miles per hour, and the speed of the second airplane is 530 miles per hour. Therefore, their combined speed is:

\[ 410 , \text{mph} + 530 , \text{mph} = 940 , \text{mph} \]

Now, we need to figure out how long it will take for them to be 3290 miles apart using the formula for distance, which is:

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

We can rearrange this formula to solve for time:

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

Substituting the known values:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{3290 , \text{miles}}{940 , \text{mph}} \]

Now, performing the division:

\[ \text{Time} = \frac{3290}{940} \approx 3.5 , \text{hours} \]

So, it will take approximately 3.5 hours for the two airplanes to be 3290 miles apart.