Who would win in a 100 m race and by how much ?

Question

Scott runs 4 m in 3 seconds and Jane runs 5 m in 4 seconds, who would win in a 100 m race and by how much ?

Answer 1

"4 m in 3 seconds" is also 3 seconds for 4 m

"5 m in 4 seconds" is also 4 seconds for 5 m

 

Since the problem asks for the time to run 100 m, we want the 100 m to cancel out the m in the denominator of the rate.  So,

   ( (3 sec) / (4 m) ) * (100 m) = 75 sec    for Scott

   ( (4 sec) / (5 m) ) * (100 m) = 80 sec    for Jane

 

The shorter time wins.  Scott wins the  100 m race by 5 seconds.