Problem Solving

The distance between West-Town to East-Town is 15 kilometers. Two birds start flying simultaneously towards one another, the first leaving from West-Town at a speed of 4 kilometers per minute and the second bird, leaving from East-Town, at a speed of 1 kilometers per minute. What will be the distance, in kilometers, between the meeting point and West-Town?

A. 3
B. 7
C. 10
D. 12
E. 15

The OA is D.

I get the solution to this PS question as follows,

Time taken by the birds to meet = 15/(4+1) = 3 minutes.

Distance traveled by the bird traveling from West-Town = 4*3 = 12. Option D.

Can anyone explain another way to solve this question? Thanks!

BTGmoderatorLU wrote:The distance between West-Town to East-Town is 15 kilometers. Two birds start flying simultaneously towards one another, the first leaving from West-Town at a speed of 4 kilometers per minute and the second bird, leaving from East-Town, at a speed of 1 kilometers per minute. What will be the distance, in kilometers, between the meeting point and West-Town?

A. 3
B. 7
C. 10
D. 12
E. 15

Since the two birds travel toward each other, they WORK TOGETHER to cover the 15 kilometers between them.
When elements work together, ADD THEIR RATES.
The combined rate for the two birds = 4+1 = 5 kpm.
Of every 5 kilometers traveled by the two birds working together, 4 kilometers are traveled by the bird leaving from West-Town.
Implication:
The bird leaving from West-Town will travel 4/5 of the 15-kilometer distance:
(4/5)(15) = 12 kilometers.

The correct answer is D.