Word Problem

Question

A passenger train left Washington and
traveled toward the fueling station at an
average speed of 15 mph. A cattle train
left six hours later and traveled in the
same direction but with an average speed
of 24 mph. Find the number of hours the
passenger train traveled before the cattle
train caught up.

Answer 1

So here goes:

speed of passenger train = 15 mph

total hours travelled by passenger train = ? (we'll call that x)

 

speed of cattle train = 24 mph

total hours travelled by cattle train = x - 6 (this is because the train left 6 hours later than the passenger train)

 

distance of passenger train = distance of cattle train (has to be in order for one train to catch up to the other)

 

make an equation and solve for x

speed(passenger) x time(passenger = speed(cattle) x time(cattle)

15x = 24(x-6)

x = 16 hours

 

hope this helps ;-)