Two cars are initially 10.5 km apart on a straight road. If the cars are moving toward each other, car 1 with a speed of 9.5 m/s and car 2 with a speed of 10.40 m/s, how many seconds will it take before the cars meet? Round your answers to three significant figures.
635 seconds
To find the time it takes for the cars to meet, we can use the formula:
time = distance / relative speed
First, let's convert the speeds to the same units. Since the distance given is in kilometers and the speeds are in meters per second, let's convert the distance to meters by multiplying it by 1000.
Distance = 10.5 km * 1000 m/km = 10500 m
Now, we can calculate the relative speed of the two cars:
Relative speed = car 1 speed + car 2 speed
Relative speed = 9.5 m/s + 10.40 m/s = 19.90 m/s
Now we can calculate the time it takes for the cars to meet:
Time = Distance / Relative speed
Time = 10500 m / 19.90 m/s = 527.638 m / s
The time it takes for the cars to meet is approximately 527.638 seconds.
Rounding to three significant figures, the time is approximately 527 seconds.