You don't define what your x is, so your equation makes no sense to me.
The left side of your equation has units of distance, while your right side is speed, thus it is gibberish.
If x is the time needed
the distance covered by the slower car = 15 + 50x
the distance covered by the faster car = 60x
So
60x = 50x + 15
10x = 15
x = 1.5 hours.
check:
slower car went 15 + 1.5(5) = 90 miles
faster car went 1.5(60) = 90 miles
well, how about that , the went the same distance !
word problem--If car A is going 50mph and is 15miles ahead of car B who is going 60mph, how long will it take car B to catch up with other?
50x+15=60
-15=15
50x=45
x=10
-
3 answers
so it would take over an hour for car b to catch up with car a.
the choices given on the study guide are 10 min, 15 min, 40 min, 60 min or none of these
the choices given on the study guide are 10 min, 15 min, 40 min, 60 min or none of these
well, I guess you know which is the correct choice, eh?
consider it this way. car A is 15 miles ahead when car B starts. B is only going 10 mi/hr faster than A, so it will take 15/10 hours to make up the difference. As Reiny showed, that means it takes 1.5 hours.
consider it this way. car A is 15 miles ahead when car B starts. B is only going 10 mi/hr faster than A, so it will take 15/10 hours to make up the difference. As Reiny showed, that means it takes 1.5 hours.