Question

Mervin and Leela are in bumper cars. They are at opposite ends of a 100-meter track heading toward each other. If Mervin moves at a rate of 5.5 meters per second and Leela moves at a rate of 3.2 meters per second, how long does it take for the to collide?

Answer 1

Mervin and Leela will collide after approximately 9.09 seconds.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the time it takes for Mervin and Leela to collide, we can first calculate the total distance they need to cover before colliding. Since they are at opposite ends of a 100-meter track, they need to cover a combined distance of 100 meters.

We can then calculate the time it takes for each of them to cover their respective distances. Mervin moves at a rate of 5.5 meters per second, so he will cover his 50 meters in 50/5.5 = 9.09 seconds. Leela moves at a rate of 3.2 meters per second, so she will cover her 50 meters in 50/3.2 = 15.63 seconds.

Therefore, it will take approximately 9.09 seconds for Mervin and Leela to collide.

Answer 2

Since together they shorten the distance between them by 8.7 m/s, we divide 100 m by 8.7 m/s and get

100/8.7 = 11.49 seconds