Question

Zane and Matt are both keen runners. Zane takes 4 minutes to jog around a running track and Matt takes 5 minutes. They start at the same time and keep running until they both cross the finish line at the same time.

a) how long did they run for?
b) how many laps did Matt run?
c) how many laps did Zane run?​

Answer 1

Zane and Matt will both finish together after 20 minutes. During this time, Zane will have completed 5 laps and Matt will have completed 4 laps.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we need to find the Least Common Multiple (LCM) of the time it takes each runner to complete a lap around the track. Zane takes 4 minutes to run a lap while Matt takes 5 minutes. The LCM of 4 and 5 is 20, which means Zane and Matt will both cross the finish line together after 20 minutes of running.

To determine how many laps each runner has completed, we divide the total time they ran by the time it takes each runner to complete a lap. For Zane:

• 20 minutes ÷ 4 minutes per lap = 5 laps

For Matt:

• 20 minutes ÷ 5 minutes per lap = 4 laps