Final answer:
The other car is traveling 15 mph faster relative to your speed. To catch up from 3000 feet behind, it would take less than 3 minutes, not matching any of the provided options.
Step-by-step explanation:
The other car's speed compared to your speed is the difference between your speeds. So, if you're driving east at 35 miles per hour and another car is also driving east at 50 miles per hour, the speed of the other car relative to yours is 15 mph faster, which corresponds to option (c) 15 mph.
To calculate the time it will take for the other car to catch up, we use the formula time = distance / relative speed. Since the other car is 3000 feet behind and is going 15 mph faster than you, we first convert the speed to feet per hour (1 mile = 5280 feet), so 15 miles per hour is 15 * 5280 feet per hour. Thus, the relative speed is 79200 feet per hour. Now, we calculate the time it will take to catch up: 3000 feet / 79200 feet per hour = 0.0379 hours, which, when converted into minutes (1 hour = 60 minutes), is approximately 2.274 minutes. So, the correct answer is less than 3 minutes, which is not listed in the options provided.