Question

A bus traveling 40 mi/h left Freetown at noon. A car following the bus at 60 mi/h left Freetown at 1:30 P.M. How many miles were the car and the bus from Freetown when the car caught up with the bus?
a. 100 miles
c. 200 miles
b. 180 miles
d. 330 miles

Answer 1

When the two vehicles catch up, the distance traveled by them will be equal. We also know that:
distance = velocity * time

Let us say that the car has traveled for time t hours. Thus, the bus will have traveled for t + 1.5 hours:
For the car:
s = 60t
For the bus:
s = 40(t + 1.5)

Equating:
60t = 40(t + 1.5)
20t = 60
t = 3 hours

The distance traveled in this time will be:
s = 60 * 3
= 180 miles

The vehicles will be 180 miles from Freetown.