Two cars are driving toward each other from opposite directions. If one is driving 55 mph, the other is driving 60 mph and the cars are 500 miles apart, how long will it be before they pass each other? Round to the nearest tenth of an hour

Let x = the 55 mph car.

and y = the 60 mph car.
I have tried to draw it below using periods as spacers (since these boards don't recognize more than one space.).
(55 mph)x->................<-y (60 mph)
........|--------------------|
........|...d..|....500-d....|
So car x will go a distance of d and car y will go a distance of 500-d. The time will be d = rate*time and time=d/r. The time will be equal; therefore,
(d/55) = (500-d)/60
Solve for d which will tell you how far car x and car y traveled, then use d = r*t and some for time. My calculations give a little over 4 hours for each. Post your work if you get stuck.

To find out how long it will take for the two cars to pass each other, we can use the concept of relative speed. The relative speed is the sum of their individual speeds when they are moving towards each other.

In this case, the first car is moving at 55 mph, and the second car is moving at 60 mph. So, the relative speed of the two cars is:

55 mph + 60 mph = 115 mph

Now, we need to determine how long it will take for the two cars to cover the distance of 500 miles. We can use the formula:

Time = Distance / Speed

Plugging in the values, we get:

Time = 500 miles / 115 mph = 4.35 hours

Rounding to the nearest tenth of an hour, the two cars will pass each other approximately 4.4 hours after they start driving.

To determine how long it will be before the cars pass each other, we can calculate their relative speed. The relative speed of the two cars is the sum of their speeds. In this case, the relative speed is 55 mph + 60 mph = 115 mph.

Now, let's divide the distance between the two cars (500 miles) by their relative speed (115 mph):
500 miles / 115 mph = 4.35 hours (rounded to the nearest tenth).

Therefore, it will take approximately 4.4 hours for the two cars to pass each other.