Hello Sydney,
It looks like Ashland and Ann Arbor are probably in the same time zone, as this is a North-South route. So no sweating that question. They are 308 miles apart, but why quibble that? Let's use the data given, since 300 is a nice even number.
First, get the trains' position relative to each other at 4 PM, when the second one has just started moving. In one hour, the Ashland train is 30 miles closer to Ann Arbor, so when the Ann Arbor train leaves, the two trains are 270 miles apart.
Second, the trains are approaching each other at 30 + 90 mph, or 120 miles per hour.
Third, since RT = D, we have T = D/R, and they cover those 270 miles in (1 hour/120 miles)*(270 miles) = 2.25 hours. Since the train from Ann Arbor started at 4 PM, the two trains pass each other at 6:15 PM. (If the trains "met", they'd be on the same track. "Meet" means "collide.")
As a bonus, how far from Ashland do the trains pass each other? There are two ways to figure this out. Show your work (I won't).
Answer: 97.5 miles from Ashland.
Extra bonus: why is the train from Ann Arbor so much faster?
Answer: look at the map. It's going straight downhill HAHAHAHA. (I've actually met people who think South on a map is downhill, and North is uphill. Scary.)
Cheers,
Eric Moline
McMinnville OR
