Problems Involving Speed, Distance and Time

PROBLEMS INVOLVING SPEED, DISTANCE AND TIME
PROBLEM 1
Two cars A and B, starting at the same time and place, travel in the same direction at 80 km/h and 60
km/h respectively. After how many hours will they be 100 km apart?
SOLUTION
METHOD 1
Let the time taken by car A and Car B be t.
Car A Car B Relationship

SPEED 80 km/h 60 km/h
DISTANCE 80t 60t 80t – 60t = 100
80t – 60t = 100
20t = 100 (Simplify LHS)
t = 5 hrs (Divide throughout by 20)
Therefore car A and car B will be 100 km apart after 5 hours
SOLUTION
METHOD 2
Let the time taken by car A and Car B be t and distance travelled by car A and car B be (x + 100) km and x
km respectively.

SPEED
DISTANCE x + 100 x
x + 100 – x = 20t (Multiply throughout by t)
100 = 20t (Simplify LHS)
t = 5 hrs (Divide throughout by 20)
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PROBLEM 1
SOLUTION
METHOD 3
Let the time taken by car A and Car B be t and distance travelled by car A and car B be (x + 100) km and x
km respectively

TIME
DISTANCE x + 100 x
LCD = 240
3(x + 100) = 4x (Multiply throughout by 240)
3x + 300 = 4x (Simplify LHS)
3x – 4x = -300 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
-x = -300 (Collect like terms)
x = 300 (Divide throughout by -1)
t= = = 5 hrs

1.
PROBLEM 1
SOLUTION
METHOD 4
Let the time taken by car A and Car B be t and distance travelled by car A and car B be x km and (x – 100)
km respectively

TIME
DISTANCE x x - 100
LCD = 240
3x = 4(x – 100) (Multiply throughout by 240)
3x = 4x – 400 (Simplify RHS)
3x – 4x = -400 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
-x = - 400 (Simplify LHS)
t= = 5 hrs

PROBLEM 1
SOLUTION
METHOD 5
Let the distance travelled by car A and car B be x km and y km respectively

SPEED 80 km/h 60 km/h
DISTANCE x y x – y = 100
TIME
x – y = 100
 x = (y +100) (1)
LCD = 240
3x = 4y
3x – 4y = 0 (2)
Substitute x = (y +100) from (1) in (2)
3(y +100)-4y = 0
3y + 300 – 4y = 0 (Remove brackets)
3y – 4y = -300 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
-y = -300 (Collect like terms)
y= 300 (Divide throughout by -1)
Substituting y = 300 from (3) in (1) yields
x = (y +100)= (300 +100)=400
t= = 5 hrs

PROBLEM 2
Two cars A and B depart simultaneously from the same place. Travelling in one direction, the two cars
will be 150 km apart in 6 hours; while, travelling in opposite directions, the two cars will be 700 km apart
in 4 hrs. Calculate their speeds.
SOLUTION
METHOD 1
Let car A travel at x km/h and car B at y km/h

SPEED x y
DISTANCE 6x 6y 6x – 6y = 150
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 4x 4y 4x + 4y = 700
(OPPOSITE DIRECTION)
6x – 6y = 150
x – y = 25 (1)
4x + 4y = 700
x + y = 175 (2)
(1) + (2): 2x = 200

x = 100 (3)
(2) - (1): 2y = 150

y = 75 (4)
Therefore car A travels at 100 km/h and car B travels at 75 km/h

PROBLEM 2
SOLUTION
METHOD 2

SPEED x
DISTANCE 6x 6x - 150
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 4x 4x + 4(
4x + 4(
4x + 4(x – 25) = 700 (Simplify term in brackets)
4x + 4x – 100 = 700 (Remove brackets)
4x + 4x = 700 + 100 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
8x = 800 (Collect like terms)
x = 100
= = = =75

PROBLEM 2
SOLUTION
METHOD 3

SPEED x
DISTANCE 6x + 150 6x
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 4x 4(
4(
4(x + 25) + 4x = 700 (Simplify term in brackets)
4x + 100 + 4x = 700 (Remove brackets)
4x + 4x = 700 - 100 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
x = 75 km/h
= = = = 100 km/h

PROBLEM 2
SOLUTION
METHOD 4
Let the distance travelled by car A be x

TIME 6 hrs 6 hrs
DISTANCE x x - 150
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 4( ) 4( 4(
SPEED
4(
LCD = 6
4x + 4(x – 150) = 4 200 (Multiply throughout by 6)
4x + 4x – 600 = 4 200 (Remove brackets)
4x + 4x = 4 200 + 600 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
x = 600 (Divide throughout by 8)
= 100 km/h (Substitute x = 600)
(Substitute x = 600)

PROBLEM 2
SOLUTION
METHOD 5
Let the distance travelled by car A be x

TIME 4 hrs 4 hrs
DISTANCE 6( ) 6( ) 6( ) - 6( ) = 150
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE x 700 - x
SPEED
6( ) - 6( ) = 150
LCD = 4
6x – 6(700 – x) = 600 (Multiply throughout by 4)
6x – 4 200 + 6x = 600 (Remove brackets)
6x + 6x = 600 + 4 200 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
12x = 4 800 (Collect like terms)

PROBLEM 3
Two cars A and B depart simultaneously from the same place. A travels 5 km/h faster than B. The two
cars travel the same duration of time in either of the two directions. The distance that they are far apart
when travelling in opposite directions is 45 times the distance that they are far apart when travelling in
the same direction. Calculate their speeds.
SOLUTION
METHOD 1
Let the time taken by each car A and B be t and their speeds be (x + 5) km/h and x km/h respectively.

TIME t t
SPEED x+5 x
DISTANCE (x + 5)t xt (x + 5)t – xt = y
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE (x + 5)t xt (x + 5)t + xt = 45y
(x + 5)t – xt = y
 5t = y (1)
(x + 5)t + xt = 45y
 2xt + 5t = 45y (2)
2xt + 5t = 45(5t) (Substitute y = 5t from (1) in (2))
2xt + 5t = 225t
2xt – 220t = 0
 2t(x – 110) = 0
x – 110 = 0 (Ignore 2t = 0)
x = 110 and (x + 5) = 115
Therefore, Car A travels at 115 km/h and car B travels at 110 km/h

PROBLEM 3
Two cars A and B depart simultaneously from the same place. A travels 5 km/h faster than B. The two
cars travel the same duration of time in either of the two directions. The distance that they are far apart
when travelling in opposite directions is 45 times the distance that they are far apart when travelling in
the same direction. Calculate their speeds.
SOLUTION
METHOD 2
Let the speed of car A and car B be x km/h and y km/h respectively.
Then the distance between them in 1 hour when travelling in the same direction will be
x–y=5 (1)
The distance between them in 1 hour when travelling in opposite direction will be
x + y = 5x45
 x + y = 225 (2)
(1) + (2) 2x = 230

 x = 115
(2) – (1):2y= 220

 y = 110
Therefore, Car A travels at 115 km/h and car B travels at 110 km/h

PROBLEM 4
Car A travels faster than car B. If car A and car B travel in the same direction, then the distance between
them is 60 km; while, if they travel in opposite directions, then the distance between them is 600 km. If
the time taken by each car to travel in either direction is 3 hours, then calculate the distance that each
car travels in 1 hour.
SOLUTION
METHOD 1
Let the distance travelled by car A and car B in 1 hour be x and y respectively

TIME 3 hrs 3 hrs
DISTANCE 3x 3y 3x – 3y = 60
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 3x 3y 3x + 3y = 600
3x – 3y = 60
 x – y = 20 (1)
3x + 3y = 600
x + y = 200 (2)
(1) +(2):2x = 220

 x = 110
(2) –(1): 2y = 180

y = 90
Therefore, Car A covers 110 km in 1 hour and car B covers 90 km in 1 hour

PROBLEM 4
SOLUTION
METHOD 2
Let car A cover 3x km in 3 hrs
Then car B will cover (3x – 60) km in 3 hrs.
 car B will cover (x - 20) km in 1 hr

TIME 3 hrs 3 hrs
DISTANCE 3x (3x – 60)
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 3x (3x – 60) 3x + (3x – 60) = 600
3x + (3x – 60) = 600
3x + 3x – 60 = 600 (Remove brackets)
(x – 20) = 110 – 20 (Substitution)
= 90

PROBLEM 4
SOLUTION
METHOD 3
Let car B cover 3x km in 3 hrs
Then car A will cover (3x + 60) km in 3 hrs.
 car A will cover (x + 20) km in 1 hr

TIME 3 hrs 3 hrs
DISTANCE (3x + 60) 3x
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE (3x + 60) 3x (3x + 60) + 3x= 600
(3x + 60) + 3x= 600
3x + 60 + 3x = 600 (Remove brackets)
3x + 3x = 600 – 60 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
(x + 20) = 90 + 20 (Substitution)

PROBLEM 4
SOLUTION
METHOD 4
Let car A cover 3x km in 3 hrs
Then car B will cover (600 – 3x)in 3 hrs
 car B will cover (200 – x)

TIME 3 hrs 3 hrs
DISTANCE 3x (600 – 3x) 3x – (600 – 3x) = 60
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE 3x (600 – 3x)
3x – (600 – 3x) = 60
3x – 600 + 3x = 60 (Remove brackets)
(200 – x) = 200 – 110 (Substitution)
= 90

PROBLEM 4
SOLUTION
METHOD 5
Let car B cover 3x km in 3 hrs
Then car A will cover (600 – 3x)in 3 hrs
 car A will cover (200 – x)

TIME 3 hrs 3 hrs
DISTANCE (600 – 3x) 3x (600 – 3x) – 3x = 60
(SAME DIRECTION)
DISTANCE (600 – 3x) 3x
(600 – 3x) – 3x = 60
600 – 3x – 3x = 60 (Remove brackts)
-3x – 3x = 60 – 600 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)
-6x = -540 (Collect like terms)
(200 – x) = 200 – 90 (Substitution)
= 110

EXERCISES
1. Two cars A and B depart simultaneously from the same place. A travels 20 km/h faster than B.
The two cars travel the same duration of time in either of the two directions. The distance that
they are far apart when travelling in opposite directions is 10 times the distance that they are
far apart when travelling in the same direction. Calculate their speeds.
2. Two cars A and B depart simultaneously from the same place. A travels 30 km/h faster than B.
The two cars travel the same duration of time in either of the two directions. The distance that
they are far apart when travelling in opposite directions is 9 times the distance that they are far
apart when travelling in the same direction. Calculate their speeds.
3. An athlete completed 50 km battalion in hours. She ran part of the way at an average speed
of 7 km/h, and cycled the rest at 28 km/h. How far did she run?
4. Two towns A and B are 320 km apart. A car starts off from town A and travels to town B at an
average speed of 120 km/h. A delivery van leaves tow B at the same time and travels at an
average speed of 80 km/h. How far from town A will they meet?
5. A man can row a boat at 5 km/h in still water. From the rowing club he can row upstream to a
bridge and back in 4 hours. The river is flowing at 2 km/h.
Note: “Upstream“ means that the man is rowing against the flow of the river, so the man’s
speed will be slower than his speed in still water. So speed upstream = (speed in still water) –
(speed of the river). “Downstream” means that the man is rowing with the flow of the river, so
he will go faster than his speed in still water. So the speed downstream = (speed in still water) +
(speed of the river).
a. What is the man’s speed if he rows upstream?
b. What is the man’s speed if he rows downstream?
c. Now calculate how far the bridge is from the rowing club.
d. Do the example in general terms, where the man’s speed in still water is v km/h, the
speed of the river is w km/h, and his total time is t hours.
e. What is the meaning of your answer if w = 0? Does it agree with the facts of the
problem?
f. What is the meaning of your answer if v = 0? Does it agree with the facts of the
problem?

Problems Involving Speed, Distance and Time

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Problems Involving Speed, Distance and Time

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PROBLEMS INVOLVING SPEED, DISTANCE AND TIME

Let the time taken by car A and Car B be t.

Car A Car B Relationship

80t – 60t = 100

20t = 100 (Simplify LHS)

t = 5 hrs (Divide throughout by 20)

Therefore car A and car B will be 100 km apart after 5 hours

Car A Car B Relationship

x + 100 – x = 20t (Multiply throughout by t)

100 = 20t (Simplify LHS)

t = 5 hrs (Divide throughout by 20)

Therefore car A and car B will be 100 km apart after 5 hours

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Car A Car B Relationship

3(x + 100) = 4x (Multiply throughout by 240)

3x + 300 = 4x (Simplify LHS)

3x – 4x = -300 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)

-x = -300 (Collect like terms)

x = 300 (Divide throughout by -1)

Therefore car A and car B will be 100 km apart after 5 hours

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Car A Car B Relationship

3x = 4(x – 100) (Multiply throughout by 240)

3x = 4x – 400 (Simplify RHS)

3x – 4x = -400 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)

-x = - 400 (Simplify LHS)

x = 400 (Divide throughout by -1)

Therefore car A and car B will be 100 km apart after 5 hours

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Let the distance travelled by car A and car B be x km and y km respectively

Car A Car B Relationship

Substitute x = (y +100) from (1) in (2)

3y + 300 – 4y = 0 (Remove brackets)

3y – 4y = -300 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)

-y = -300 (Collect like terms)

y= 300 (Divide throughout by -1)

Substituting y = 300 from (3) in (1) yields

x = (y +100)= (300 +100)=400

Therefore car A and car B will be 100 km apart after 5 hours

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Let car A travel at x km/h and car B at y km/h

Car A Car B Relationship

(1) + (2): 2x = 200

(2) - (1): 2y = 150

Therefore car A travels at 100 km/h and car B travels at 75 km/h

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Let car A travel at x km/h and car B at y km/h

Car A Car B Relationship

4x + 4(x – 25) = 700 (Simplify term in brackets)

4x + 4x – 100 = 700 (Remove brackets)

4x + 4x = 700 + 100 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)

8x = 800 (Collect like terms)

Therefore car A travels at 100 km/h and car B travels at 75 km/h

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Let car A travel at x km/h and car B at y km/h

Car A Car B Relationship

4(x + 25) + 4x = 700 (Simplify term in brackets)

4x + 100 + 4x = 700 (Remove brackets)

4x + 4x = 700 - 100 (Variables on LHS and numerals on RHS)

8x = 600 (Collect like terms)

Therefore car A travels at 100 km/h and car B travels at 75 km/h

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Let the distance travelled by car A be x

Car A Car B Relationship