A plane leaves Chicago headed for Los Angeles at 520 mph. One hour later, a second plane leaves Los Angeles headed for Chicago at 620 mph. If the air route from Chicago to Los Angeles is 1800 miles, how long will it take (after the first plane takes off) for the first plane to pass the second plane? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)
the planes are approaching at 520+620=1140 mph
By the time the 2nd plane takes off, the distance between the planes is only 1800-520=1280 miles
At those speeds, they cover the distance in 1280/1140 = 1.123 hours
I expect you can now answer the question.
To determine how long it will take for the first plane to pass the second plane, we need to find the time at which they meet. Let's break down the problem step by step:
Step 1: Find the time it takes for the first plane to cover the distance of 1800 miles.
Since the first plane is traveling at a speed of 520 mph, we can use the formula Time = Distance / Speed.
Time for the first plane = 1800 miles / 520 mph = 3.46 hours (rounded to two decimal places).
Step 2: Since the second plane departs one hour later than the first plane, we subtract one hour from the time calculated in Step 1.
Adjusted time for the first plane = 3.46 hours - 1 hour = 2.46 hours.
Therefore, it will take 2.46 hours (or 2 hours and 27 minutes) for the first plane to pass the second plane.