Explanation:
stock A started at 9am with $16.01.
it increased by $0.08 every hour.
stock B started at noon (12pm) with $16.51
and it decreases by $0.08 every hour.
so, in order to let them run "side by side", we need to align them to the same starting point. best is 12pm.
stock A then starts the "race" at 12pm with $16.01 + 3×$0.08 = $16.25
because 12pm is 3 hours after 9am, and so stock A increased in this time by 3×$0.08.
let's call the time in hours they "run" side by side h.
so, we are trying to find the value of h when both prices are the same :
16.25 + 0.08×h = 16.51 - 0.08×h
0.08×h = 0.26 - 0.08×h
0.16×h = 0.26
h = 0.26/0.16 = 26/16 = 13/8 = 1 5/8 = 1.625 hours.
so, 1.625 hours after 12pm they will have the same price.