Question

So I have a question. Its a really good question. I'm not sure you'll get it though. Okay so my question is if a train leaves a station at 12 o'clock and moves at a constant speed of 90 mph and another train leaves a different station 2000 miles away in the opposite direction at 2 o'clock traveling at 80 mph. When will both trains cross each other?

Answer 1

• 12:42 (approximately)

Explanation:

Train 1 will travel for 2 hours before the second train leaves.

The distance at 2 o'clock is reduced by 2*90 = 180 miles and now is:

• 2000 - 180 = 1820 miles

Let the trains spend x hours before crossing, then we have following equation for the distance:

• x(90 + 80) = 1820
• 170x = 1820
• x = 1820/170
• x = 10 120/170 = 10 12/17 hours ≈ 10 hours and 42 minutes

The trains will cross at:

• 2 o'clock + 10 h 42 min = 12:42

The time when trains cross each other will be approximately 12:42