Question

Suppose that a storm front is traveling at 33 mph. When the storm is 13 miles away a storm chasing van starts pursuing an average speed of 54 mph. How long does it take for the van to catch up with the storm? How far have they driven? (Hint: we can let our two variables be x= distance and t= time. Additionally, [speed x time= distance]. Won't the van catch up when the distances are equal?

Answer 1

It takes 0.619 hours (approximately 37 minutes) for the van to catch up with the storm.

They have driven 33.43 miles

They will catch up when their distances are equal.

Explanation:

The speed of the van is 54 mph, and the speed of the storm is 33 mph. They are going in the same direction, so the relative speed is the difference of their speeds:

relative speed = 54 - 33 = 21 mph

Now, to find the time when the van reaches the storm, we just need to use the equation:

distance = speed * time

13 = 21 * t

t = 13 / 21 = 0.619 hours

The distance traveled by the van is:

distance = 54 * 0.619 = 33.43 miles

The van will catch up when the distances are equal (the distance of the storm is 13 + 33*0.619 = 33.43 miles)