Two planes are flying directly toward each other. The first plane is traveling at 1,200 kilometers per hour, and the second plane is traveling at 860 kilometers per hour. Currently, they are 2,800 kilometers apart. In how long will the planes pass each other?

If necessary, round your answer to the nearest minute.
hours and
minutes

1 answer

To determine how long it will take for the two planes to pass each other, we first need to calculate their combined speed. The first plane is traveling at 1,200 kilometers per hour, and the second plane is traveling at 860 kilometers per hour.

  1. Calculate the combined speed of the planes: \[ \text{Combined speed} = 1,200 \text{ km/h} + 860 \text{ km/h} = 2,060 \text{ km/h} \]

  2. Now, we need to find the time it takes for them to cover the distance of 2,800 kilometers at their combined speed. We can use the formula for time, which is: \[ \text{Time} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Speed}} \] Substituting the values we have: \[ \text{Time} = \frac{2,800 \text{ km}}{2,060 \text{ km/h}} \approx 1.3583 \text{ hours} \]

  3. To convert this time from hours to hours and minutes, we take the decimal part and convert it to minutes: \[ 0.3583 \text{ hours} \times 60 \text{ minutes/hour} \approx 21.5 \text{ minutes} \]

  4. Finally, rounding to the nearest minute gives us 22 minutes. Therefore, the time until the planes pass each other is: \[ 1 \text{ hour} \text{ and } 22 \text{ minutes} \]

Thus, the planes will pass each other in approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes.