Question

Two women in an aerobics class stop to take their pulse and find that they have the same pulse. One woman is 36 years older than the other and is working at the upper limit of her target heart rate zone. The younger woman is working at the lower limit of her target heart rate zone. What are the ages of the two​ women, and what is their​ pulse? The age of the younger woman is approximately enter your response here years and that of older woman is approximately enter your response here years.

Answer 1

To find the ages of the two women with the same pulse in an aerobics class, a mathematical equation is used combining the maximum heart rate formula (220-age) for both women. The younger woman's age is y and the older woman's is y+36. Solving the equation where both women have the same pulse gives their respective ages.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks us to find the ages of two women in an aerobics class who have the same pulse, with one being 36 years older than the other and each working at different limits of their target heart rate zone. Using the given information about maximum heart rates (HRs) in relation to age, which is found by subtracting the individual's age from 220 bpm, and combining that with the knowledge that these rates decrease with age, we can set up a system of equations to solve for the ages of the two women.

Let's denote the age of the younger woman as y, and therefore the age of the older woman as y + 36. According to the 220-age rule, the younger woman's maximum HR is 220 - y and the older woman's maximum HR is 220 - (y + 36). The fact that they have the same pulse during the exercise implies that their heart rates (HRs) are equal, which can be represented by the equation:

220 - y (at the lower limit of the younger woman's target HR zone) = 220 - (y + 36) (at the upper limit of the older woman's target HR zone).

Solving for y gives us the ages of the two women. Both HRs would equal to the target HR at which their pulses match.