Question

An airplane is flying at 180mph. A jet flying at 330 mph leaves 1 hour later traveling in the same direction. How long will it take for the jet to catch up to the airplane?

Answer 1

To solve this problem, let us first assign some variables. Let us say that:

v1 = velocity of airplane = 180 mph

t1 = time travelled by airplane

v2 = velocity of jet = 330 mph

t2 = time travelled by jet

 

Since we know that distance is the product of velocity and time, and that the distance travelled by the two must be equal for the jet to catch up to the plane, hence:

v1 * t1 = v2 * t2

But we know that:

t1 = t2 + 1

Therefore:

180 (t2 + 1) = 330 t2

180 t2 + 180 = 330 t2

150 t2 = 180

t2 = 1.2 hours

 

Therefore the jet can catch up to the plane after 1.2 hours it takes off.