Question

A police officer is chasing a purse-snatcher down a street. The thief

Answer 1

Answer:

3 seconds

Explanation:

We can give an expression for the position of both the thief and of the police officer at time t.

The position of the thief at time t is given by

$x_t = 9 + 5t$

where 9 is its initial position in m and 5 is its speed in m/s.

Instead, the position of the police officer at time t is given by

$x_o = 0+8t$

where 0 is its initial position in m and 8 is its speed in m/s.

The police officer will catch the thief when their position will be equal, so

$x_t = x_o$

By solving,

$9+5t=8t\\3t=9\\t=3 s$