Question

A deer and bear stumble across a sleeping skunk. They run away from it in opposite directions - the deer at a speed of 7 feet per second and the bear at a speed of 3 feet per second. How long will it be until the animals are 185 yards apart?

Answer 1

55.5 seconds

Explanation:

The distance between the deer and bear is increasing at the rate of ...

(7 ft/s) +(3 ft/s) = 10 ft/s

The total distance apart we're interested in is ...

(185 yd)(3 ft/yd) = 555 ft

The time required to make a gap that large is ...

time = distance/speed = (555 ft)/(10 ft/s) = 55.5 s

It will be 55.5 seconds until the animals are 185 yards apart.