Question

Two​ vehicles, a car and a​ truck, leave an intersection at the same time. the car heads east at an average speed of 50 miles per​ hour, while the truck heads south at an average speed of 60 miles per hour. find an expression for their distance apart d​ (in miles) at the end of t hours.

Answer 1

The car heads east at an average speed of 50 miles per​ hour from the intersection point towards East. The truck heads east at an average speed of 60 miles per​ hour from the intersection point towards South.

The distance of car from the intersection point after t hours is
`50t`.

The distance of truck from the intersection point after t hours is
`60t`.

Since these distances are perpendicular to each other, distance apart d​ (in miles) at the end of t hours is

`image`

Thus the distance apart is
`d=78.1t \;miles`