Rate x Time = Distance Question!

Question

Albany and New York are 150 miles apart. One car left Albany heading for New York averaging 40 km/h. At the same time another car left NY heading for Albany averaging 35 km/h. How far from Albany did the two cars meet?

Answer 1

40t + 35 t = 150

75t = 150

t = 2

2(40) = 80

80 miles.

Answer 2

Car #1 travels from Albany to New York @ 40 km/hr.

Car #2 travels from New York to Albany @ 35 km/hr.

The distance between Albany and New York is 150 miles (about 241.40 km).

Let x = 40t and y = 35t be how fast each car travels at the same time. Let x + y = 241.40 be the distance the two cars are apart. Then we have following equation:

40t + 35t = 241.40 → 75t = 241.40 → t = 3.22 hours

The two cars will meet at around 3.22 hours.