Question

Two airplanes are are 1600 miles apart and heading toward each other at different altitudes. The first plane is traveling north at 620 miles per hour, while the second plane is traveling south at 780 miles per hour. When will the planes pass each other?

Answer 1

The planes will pass each other in 1.14 hours.

Why?

To solve the problem, we must remember that since both planes are heading toward each other, the speed to the calculations will be their combined speeds.

The speed will be:

$Speed=PlaneA+PlaneB\\\\Speed=620mph+780mph=1400mph$

Now, calculating the time, we have:

$x=v*t\\\\1600mi=1400mph*t\\\\t=\frac{1600mi}{1400mph}=1.14hours$

Hence, the planes will pass each other in 1.14 hours.

Have a nice day!