Question

Janelle and Swetha are taking a 50 question test. Janelle started after Swetha had already finished 12 questions. Janelle answers questions at a rate of two per minute while Swetha answers at a rate of 5 questions per 4 mins. Janelle eventually catches up to Swetha. How many minutes does it take her and what question are they on when Janelle catches up? Make 2 equations in slope intercept form (y=mx+b) for Janelle and Swetha to solve.

Answer 1

Begin by finding the two equations like this:
Janelle equation: $x=2t$.
Swetha equation:$y=\frac{5}{4}+12t$ since y = 12 when the time t = 0. 
In order to find how many time it takes to Janelle in order to catches 
up solve the equation: $\frac{5}{4}t+12=2t$
Solving the above equation for t we get: $t=16$
So she catches up after 16 minutes. 
Compute like this: $2\times16=32$
They were on question 32 then.