At 9 a.m., Kimberly and Natalie raced off together from the starting point of a path. Kimberly ran at an average speed of 3 m/s. Natalie ran at an average speed of 4 m/s. Upon reaching the end of the path, Natalie rested for 4 minutes. She then immediately ran back along the same route at 4 m/s. At 9.45 a.m., Kimberly met Natalie.

1. Find the total distance covered by the two runners when they met each other. Express your answer in km.
2. Find the length of the trail in km.

(a)
From 9 a.m. to 9.45 a.m. = 45 min

Duration that Kimberly ran = 45 min
Duration that Natalie ran = 45 -  4 = 41 min

1 min = 60 s

41 min = 41 x 60 = 2460 s
45 min = 45 x 60 = 2700 s

Distance that Kimberly ran
= 3 x 2700
= 8100 m

Distance that Natalie ran
= 4 x 2460
= 9840 m

Distance that Kimberly and Natalie ran
= 8100 + 9840
= 17940 m

1000 m = 1 km

17940 m = 17940 ÷ 1000 = 17.94 km

(b)
Length of the trail
= 17.94 ÷ 2
= 8.97 km

Answer(s): (a) 17.94 km; (b) 8.97 km