Question

Billy and his younger brother, Reggie, are going to race each other to the park. They will start running at the same time, but Billy is letting Reggie start 20 meters ahead. Billy can run 8 meters per second, and Reggie can run 6 meters per second. Which equation can you use to find s, the number of seconds it will take for Billy to catch up to Reggie if they each run as fast as they can?

1) s = 20 + 8t - 6t
2) s = 20 + 6t - 8t
3) s = 20 + 8t + 6t
4) s = 20 + 6t + 8t

Answer 1

The equation that can be used to find the number of seconds it will take for Billy to catch up to Reggie is s = 20 + 2t.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the equation to determine the number of seconds it will take for Billy to catch up to Reggie, we need to consider their speeds and the initial distance between them. Billy is letting Reggie start 20 meters ahead, and Billy can run 8 meters per second while Reggie can run 6 meters per second. Since Reggie already has a head start of 20 meters, we need to find the time it takes for Billy to cover that distance. The equation that represents this situation is s = 20 + 8t - 6t, which simplifies to s = 20 + 2t.