At 14 30, Warren left Town T for Town U, driving at a speed of 80 km/h. At 15 30, Howard also left Town T for Town U driving at a certain speed. Both of them did not change their speed throughout the journey. At 19 30, both of them passed a playground that was 160 km away from Town U. How many minutes earlier did Howard reach Town U than Warren?

Distance that Warren travelled
= 5 x 80
= 400 km

Distance between Town T and Town U
= 400 + 160
= 560 km

Since Howard passed the playground at the same time as Warren, it means that Howard travelled 400 km in 4 hours.

Howard's speed during the journey
= 400 ÷ 4
= 100 km/h

Duration that Howard took to reach Town U after passing the playground
= 160 ÷ 100
= 1.6 h

Duration that Warren took to reach Town U after passing the playground
= 160 ÷ 80
= 2 h

Difference between the time they took to reach Town U
= 2 - 1.6
= 0.4 h

1 h = 60 min
0.4 h = 0.4 x 60 = 24 min

Howard reached Town U 24 minutes earlier than Warren.

Answer(s): 24 min