Question

Timmy and Sam ran in a marathon. Timmy ran at a constant speed of 5 miles per hour. Sam ran at a

constant speed of 4 miles per hour and had a head start of 2 miles. Determine where Timmy and Sam will
meet.
HELPP

Answer 1

Given:

Speed of Timmy = 5 miles per hour

Speed of sam = 4 miles per hour and head start of 2 miles

To find:

Where Timmy and Sam will meet.

Solution:

Let x be the number hours they ran in marathon and y be the total distance covered.

Speed of Timmy is 5 miles per hour. So, total distance covered by Timmy in x hours is

`y=5x` ...(i)

Speed of sam is 4 miles per hour and head start of 2 miles. So, total distance covered by sam in x hours is

`y=4x+2` ...(ii)

Now, equate (i) and (ii).

`5x=4x+2`

`5x-4x=2`

`x=2`

The value of x is 2. It means they will meet after 2 hours.

Put x=2 in (i).

`y=5(2)`

`y=10`

It means, they will meet at 10 miles.