Math word problem

Question

A tiger is known to chase its target at a speed of 50 mph. Today, a tiger has found his prey among a herd of wild cattle. The wild cow was a quarter of a mile ahead and running at an average speed of 25 mph when the tiger started chasing it. How long will it take the tiger to catch its prey?

Answer 1

Hello Caleb.

The difference of the speeds of tiger and prey is 50-25 = 25mph that means tiger would get 25 miles close to its prey in 1 hour. Since their distance is 0.25. you can set up a proportion;

25/1 = 0.25/x; x = 0.01h =60*0.01 = 0.6 min or 36 sec.

hope that helps

Answer 2

Assume it takes h hours.

In that time tiger has moved 50h miles

Relative to tiger's initial position cow has moved 0.25 + 25h

So 50h = 0.25 + 25h

You can solve for h

This assumes tiger is moving at 50mph instantaneously, which isn't true, but without knowing tiger's acceleration we can't do better than this