Final answer:
The distance between Hillsboro and Central City is calculated by multiplying Ana's travel speed by the time before Rita started, which is 300 km. However, this distance doesn't match any of the given options, indicating a possible error in the question or the choices provided.
Step-by-step explanation:
We have a motion problem where Ana took a train from downtown Hillsboro to Central City at a speed of 120 km/h, and Rita took a plane from the same place 2.5 hours later at a speed of 480 km/h. To find how far apart the two towns are, we need to determine the distance Ana traveled by the time Rita started her journey.
Ana's travel time before Rita starts is 2.5 hours. Using the formula distance = speed × time, we calculate Ana's distance as:
Distance = 120 km/h × 2.5 hours = 300 km
This distance is also the distance between the two towns since Rita starts from the same location after Ana has already traveled this distance. Therefore, the distance between downtown Hillsboro and Central City is 300 km.
However, this option is not given in the question. There seems to be a mistake either in the provided options or the setup of the question since none of the options (A) 200 km, (B) 450 km, (C) 480 km, (D) 660 km match our calculated distance of 300 km. Hence, there may be an error in the question or the provided choices.