Question

Two​ cars, 540 kilometers​ apart, begin driving toward each other on a​ long, straight highway. one car travels 75 kilometers per hour and the other 105 kilometers per hour. at the same​ time, a​ canary, starting on one​ car, flies back and forth between the two cars as they approach each other. if the canary flies 100 kilometers per hour and spends no time to turn around at each​ car, how far has it flown when the cars​ collide?

Answer 1

One car travels at a speed of 75 kilometers per hour and the other car travels at a speed of 105 kilometers per hour.

Since both the cars are travelling towards each other their combined speed will be: 75+105=180 km/h.

Now, since the distance between the cars to start with is 540 km. Therefore, the time taken before the cars collide is:

$t=\frac{540}{180} =3$ hours.

Now, the speed of the canary is 100 km/h.

Therefore, the Canary flies flies for (100 km/h)x(3 hours) = 300 km before the cars collide.