John walks 1.60 km north, then turns right and walks 2.00 km east. His speed is 1.80 m/s during the entire stroll.

Question

If Jane starts at the same time and place as John, but walks in a straight line to the endpoint of John's stroll, at what speed should she walk if she wants to arrive at the endpoint just when John does?

Express your answer in meters per second.

Answer 1

Distance for Jane = √ ( 1.6)² +(2.0)² = √( 2.56 ) +4 = √6.56 Km = 2.56 * 10³ m

Now again speed= Distance /time

Use the same time taken by John

Time = Distance / Speed = 3.6 *10³ /1.8

Answer 2

Since you know the total distance John walks and his speed, you can simply calculate his walking time by dividing the total distance by his speed ( t = d/v).

Since he is walking the sides of a right triangle, simply calculate the hypthenuse Jane needs to walk to meet John. Then divide that distance by the time John walked, and you get Jane's speed (v = d/t), it's that simple!

Egbert