The time it took car A to travel 400 miles was 2 hours less

Hi swerve,

We're told that the time it took car A to travel 400 miles was 2 hours LESS than the time it took car B to travel the same distance and car A's average speed was 10 miles per hour GREATER than that of car B. We're asked for car B's average speed in miles per hour. This question can be approached in a couple of different ways. Since it's essentially about basic arithmetic (re: two 'pairs' of numbers that have a product of 400), you would likely find it fastest to TEST THE ANSWERS.

To start, the difference in the time that the two cars traveled is exactly 2 hours and we know that Car B was going exactly 10 mph slower than Car A. Based on the prompt and the answer choices, we're clearly dealing with nice 'round' numbers, so let's start with an answer that divides evenly into 400...

Let's TEST Answer C: 40 miles/hour

IF.... Car B is traveling 40 mph, then it takes 400/40 = 10 hours to complete that drive.
We're told that Car A's speed is 10 mph greater than Car B's speed, so....
Car A is traveling 50 mph... and that would take 400/50 = 8 hours to complete that drive.
Here, the difference in travel time is exactly 2 hours - and this matches what we were told - so this MUST be the answer.

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich