Answer help: Trains A and B are traveling in the same direction on parallel tracks. - Help.com



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Trains A and B are traveling in the same direction on parallel tracks.

Train A is traveling at 80 miles per hour and train B is traveling at 90 miles per hour. Train A passes a station at 5:10 p.m. If train B passes the same station at 5:22 p.m., at what time will train B catch up to train A?

I’m not looking for the answer but more of how to solve it. If the answer is included all the better…

This open post was written 2 months, 2 weeks ago | V/U/S: 361, 4, 3 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

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sarahjuanita198 offline Verified User (3 months) Long Term User Shouts: 0 #
An Unknown Location | 2 months, 2 weeks ago (17 minutes after post)

Well if you’re looking for a speed distance and time equation, you always need to know speed = distance diveded by time, distance = speed multiplied by time and time = distance diveded by speed. If you follow this rule. Unless the faster train stops then the slower one will never catch it up…

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Plox offline Verified User (2 months, 3 weeks) Shouts: 7 #
An Unknown Location | 2 months, 2 weeks ago (18 minutes after post)

First you need to find out how far apart the two trains are. When you have that distance you can take the difference in speed as the speed at which they are closing in on each other. When you know these two things you can easily calculate when B will catch up to A.

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Anonymous #
2 months, 2 weeks ago (18 minutes after post)

It’s pretty straight forward if you think of it this way…

Train A starts off at the station (assume it instantly hits 80 mph) at 5:10.
Train B starts off at the same station (assume it instantly accelerates to 90 mpg) at 5:22. If you think of it this way, you realize it’s not starting position is not important.

distance traveled is assigned a variable “D”.

Since train B starts off 12 minutes later than train A, train A has 12 more minutes to travel.

so the question is, when does D for train A equal D for train B.
also important. when B catches up to A, train A has been traveling at 80 MPH for T minutes where B has been traveling for T-12 minutes (12 minutes less)

so…

80*T = 90 *(T-12)

8/9 = (T - 12) / T

8/9 = 1 - 12 / T

12/T = 1/9

T/12 = 9/1

T = 12 * 9

T = 108 minutes. Both trains will have traveled 144 miles by the

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Plox offline Verified User (2 months, 3 weeks) Shouts: 7 #
An Unknown Location | 2 months, 2 weeks ago (52 minutes after post)

Oops my suggestion was wrong. -_-

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