MOTION PROBLEM

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MOTION PROBLEM

by Hafsa Kamous » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:08 am
Hi everybody,

Can you please help me understand this problem:

Scott starts jogging from point X to point Y. A half-hour later his friend Garrett who jogs 1
mile per hour slower than twice Scott's rate starts from the same point and follows the same
path. If Garrett overtakes Scott in 2 hours, how many miles will Garrett have covered?
(A) 2 1/5
(B) 3 1/3
(C) 4
(D) 6
(E) 6 2/3


The answer is :

Following Guideline 1, we let r = Scott's rate. Then 2r - 1 = Garrett's rate. Turning to Guideline 2, we look for two quantities that are equal to each other. When Garrett overtakes Scott, they will have traveled the same distance. Now, from the formula D= R * T , Scott's distance is D= r * 2 1/2 (I don't understand this formula)

and Garrett's distance is D = (2r - 1)2 = 4r - 2
Setting these expressions equal to each other gives 4r * 2 = r * 2 1/2

Solving this equation for r gives r = 4/3

Hence, Garrett will have traveled D= 4r * 2 = 4 (4/3 - 2 = 3 1/3 miles.

The answer is (B).
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by gmatboost » Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:13 pm
Scott runs for 1/2 an hour before Garrett starts.
They then both run for another 2 hours, at which point Garrett catches up, and they are in the same place.

So, Scott's time is 2.5 and Garrett's time is only 2. That is the amount of time it took each one to cover the distance D.

As the explanation you quoted says, if Scott runs at a rate r, Garrett runs at 2r - 1.

Using R*T=D

Scott:
Rate = r
Time = 2.5
Distance = 2.5r

Garrett:
Rate = 2r - 1
Time = 2
Distance = 4r - 2

Since the distance for each is the same (they start at the same point, and by definition when Garrett overtakes Scott they are at the same point):

2.5r = 4r - 2
2.5r + 2 = 4r
2 = 1.5r
4 = 3r
r = 4/3

The questions asks for D, so we can use either one of the expressions 2.5r or 4r - 2 to get the answer

2.5r = (5/2)r = (5/2)(4/3) = 20/6 = 10/3
4r - 2 = 4(4/3) - 2 = 16/3 - 2 = 16/3 - 6/3 = 10/3
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