At 9 a.m., Mary and Dana raced off together from the starting point of a track. Mary ran at an average speed of 3 m/s. Dana ran at an average speed of 4 m/s. Upon reaching the end of the track, Dana rested for 4 minutes. She then immediately ran back along the same route at 4 m/s. At 9.40 a.m., Mary met Dana.
- Find the total distance covered by the two runners when they met each other. Express your answer in km.
- Find the length of the trail in km.
(a)
From 9 a.m. to 9.40 a.m. = 40 min
Duration that Mary ran = 40 min
Duration that Dana ran = 40 - 4 = 36 min
1 min = 60 s
36 min = 36 x 60 = 2160 s
40 min = 40 x 60 = 2400 s
Distance that Mary ran
= 3 x 2400
= 7200 m
Distance that Dana ran
= 4 x 2160
= 8640 m
Distance that Mary and Dana ran
= 7200 + 8640
= 15840 m
1000 m = 1 km
15840 m = 15840 ÷ 1000 = 15.84 km
(b)
Length of the trail
= 15.84 ÷ 2
= 7.92 km
Answer(s): (a) 15.84 km; (b) 7.92 km