At 13 35, Ben left Town T for Town U, driving at a speed of 60 km/h. At 16 35, Tom also left Town T for Town U driving at a certain speed. Both of them did not change their speed throughout the journey. At 18 35, both of them passed a cinema that was 180 km away from Town U. How many minutes earlier did Tom reach Town U than Ben?

Distance that Ben travelled
= 5 x 60
= 300 km

Distance between Town T and Town U
= 300 + 180
= 480 km

Since Tom passed the cinema at the same time as Ben, it means that Tom travelled 300 km in 2 hours.

Tom's speed during the journey
= 300 ÷ 2
= 150 km/h

Duration that Tom took to reach Town U after passing the cinema
= 180 ÷ 150
= 1.2 h

Duration that Ben took to reach Town U after passing the cinema
= 180 ÷ 60
= 3 h

Difference between the time they took to reach Town U
= 3 - 1.2
= 1.8 h

1 h = 60 min
1.8 h = 1.8 x 60 = 108 min

Tom reached Town U 108 minutes earlier than Ben.

Answer(s): 108 min