Question

Two planes with different speeds are flying from New York to Los Angeles. The two cities are 2000miles apart. Each plane flies at constant velocity, 396 mi/h for the slower one and 550 mi/h for the faster one. When the faster plane arrives, how far away from Los Angeles will the slow plane be?

Answer 1

To determine the distance the slower plane is from Los Angeles when the faster plane arrives, we calculate the travel time for the faster plane and use it to determine the distance covered by the slower plane. Doing this, we find that the slower plane will be approximately 559.76 miles away from Los Angeles.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the faster plane, traveling at 550 mi/h, arrives in Los Angeles, we want to know how far the slower plane, traveling at 396 mi/h, will be from Los Angeles.

First, we calculate the time it takes for the faster plane to cover the 2000 miles distance by dividing the distance by its speed:

Time = Distance / Speed
Time = 2000 miles / 550 mi/h
Time ≈ 3.636 hours

Then, we use this time to find out how far the slower plane has traveled:

Distance traveled by the slow plane = Speed * Time
Distance traveled by the slow plane = 396 mi/h * 3.636 hours
Distance traveled by the slow plane ≈ 1440.24 miles

To find out how far the slow plane is from Los Angeles when the faster plane arrives, we subtract the distance it has traveled from the total distance:

Distance from Los Angeles = Total Distance - Distance traveled by slow plane
Distance from Los Angeles = 2000 miles - 1440.24 miles
Distance from Los Angeles ≈ 559.76 miles

Therefore, when the faster plane arrives in Los Angeles, the slower plane will be approximately 559.76 miles away from Los Angeles.