A quarterback and end play on their team. From the start of a play, Pete, the end, runs down the field at about 25 feet per second. Two seconds after the play starts, Phil, the quarterback, throws the ball, at about 50 feet per second, to Pete, who is still running.

Question

A quarterback and end play on their team. From the start of a play, Pete, the end, runs down the field at about 25 feet per second. Two seconds after the play starts, Phil, the quarterback, throws the ball, at about 50 feet per second, to Pete, who is still running.

I need help setting the problem up-

How long after Phil throws the ball will Pete catch it?

How far will Pete be from where the ball was thrown?

Thanks.

Answer 1

They travel the same distance;

distance ball= distance pete
50ft/s (t-2)=25ft/sec * t

solve for t.

Answer 2

I don't understand...do you take 50(t-2)=25*t? If so, I didn't come out with the right answer on question one for the same distance.

I just have a hard time understanding these comparison problems.

Answer 3

To solve this problem, we can break it down into two parts:

1. Finding the time it takes for Pete to catch the ball after Phil throws it.
2. Determining the distance Pete will be from where the ball was thrown when he catches it.

First, let's calculate the time it takes for Pete to catch the ball after Phil throws it. We know that Pete runs at a speed of 25 feet per second and Phil throws the ball at a speed of 50 feet per second. Since Pete starts running 2 seconds after the play starts, we need to determine how long it will take him to catch up with the ball.

Let's denote the time it takes Pete to catch the ball as 't'. We can set up the equation:

25t = 50(t - 2)

Here, 25t represents the distance Pete travels in time 't', and 50(t - 2) represents the distance the ball travels in time 't' minus the 2 seconds Phil threw the ball earlier.

Now, let's solve this equation to find the value of 't':

25t = 50t - 100

100 = 50t - 25t

100 = 25t

t = 100 / 25

t = 4

Therefore, it will take Pete 4 seconds to catch the ball after Phil throws it.

Next, let's determine the distance Pete will be from where the ball was thrown when he catches it. We can calculate this by multiplying Pete's running speed (25 feet per second) by the time it takes him to catch the ball (4 seconds):

Distance = Speed x Time
Distance = 25 feet/second x 4 seconds
Distance = 100 feet

Therefore, Pete will be 100 feet away from where the ball was thrown when he catches it.

To summarize:
1. Pete will catch the ball 4 seconds after Phil throws it.
2. Pete will be 100 feet away from where the ball was thrown when he catches it.