At 11 a.m., Kimberly and Wendy raced off together from the starting point of a pathway. Kimberly ran at an average speed of 2 m/s. Wendy ran at an average speed of 3 m/s. Upon reaching the end of the pathway, Wendy rested for 5 minutes. She then immediately ran back along the same route at 3 m/s. At 11.50 a.m., Kimberly met Wendy.

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 11 a.m. to 11.50 a.m. = 50 min

Duration that Kimberly ran = 50 min
Duration that Wendy ran = 50 -  5 = 45 min

1 min = 60 s

45 min = 45 x 60 = 2700 s
50 min = 50 x 60 = 3000 s

Distance that Kimberly ran
= 2 x 3000
= 6000 m

Distance that Wendy ran
= 3 x 2700
= 8100 m

Distance that Kimberly and Wendy ran
= 6000 + 8100
= 14100 m

1000 m = 1 km

14100 m = 14100 ÷ 1000 = 14.1 km

(b)
Length of the trail
= 14.1 ÷ 2
= 7.05 km

Answer(s): (a) 14.1 km; (b) 7.05 km