Al and Ben are drivers for SD Trucking Company. One snowy day, Ben left SD at 8:00 a.m. heading east and Al left SD at

This topic has expert replies
Moderator
Posts: 2237
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:08 pm
Followed by:2 members

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Official Guide

Al and Ben are drivers for SD Trucking Company. One snowy day, Ben left SD at 8:00 a.m. heading east and Al left SD at 11:00 a.m. heading west. At a particular time later that day, the dispatcher retrieved data from SD’s vehicle tracking system. The data showed that, up to that time, Al had averaged 40 miles per hour and Ben had averaged 20 miles per hour. It also showed that Al and Ben had driven a combined total of 240 miles. At what time did the dispatcher retrieve data from the vehicle tracking system?

A. 1:00 p.m.
B. 2:00 p.m.
C. 3:00 p.m.
D. 5:00 p.m.
E. 6:00 p.m.

OA B

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 16207
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC
Thanked: 5254 times
Followed by:1268 members
GMAT Score:770
AAPL wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:05 pm
Official Guide

Al and Ben are drivers for SD Trucking Company. One snowy day, Ben left SD at 8:00 a.m. heading east and Al left SD at 11:00 a.m. heading west. At a particular time later that day, the dispatcher retrieved data from SD’s vehicle tracking system. The data showed that, up to that time, Al had averaged 40 miles per hour and Ben had averaged 20 miles per hour. It also showed that Al and Ben had driven a combined total of 240 miles. At what time did the dispatcher retrieve data from the vehicle tracking system?

A. 1:00 p.m.
B. 2:00 p.m.
C. 3:00 p.m.
D. 5:00 p.m.
E. 6:00 p.m.

OA B
Let's start with a "word equation"

(Ben's travel distance) + (Al's travel distance) = 240 miles

Let t = Al's travel time (in hours)
So, t + 3= Ben's travel time (since Ben spent 3 more hours driving)

Distance = (rate)(time)

So, our word equation becomes...
(20)(t + 3) + (40)(t) = 240 miles
Expand: 20t + 60 + 40t = 240
Simplify: 60t + 60 = 240
Subtract 60 from both sides: 60t = 180
Solve: t = 3
So, AL traveled for 3 hours (which means BEN traveled for 6 hours)

So, the dispatcher retrieved data at 2pm (since 8am + 6 hours = 2pm)

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
Image