Will and Grace are canoeing on a lake. Will rows at $50$ meters per minute and Grace rows at $30$ meters per minute. Will starts rowing at $2$ p.m. from the west end of the lake, and Grace starts rowing from the east end of the lake at $2{:}45$ p.m. If they always row directly towards each other, and the lake is $2800$ meters across from the west side of the lake to the east side, at what time will the two meet?
First, let's calculate how far Will got before Grace even started to row,
We have \(d=st\), where d is distance, s is speed, and t is time.
We have \((45 min)(50 m/min) = 2250 m \). Will rowed 2250m before Grace began.
Now, Will and Grace have to cover \((2800 m) – (2250 m) = 550 m \) together.
We have
\( (50)(t) + (30)(t) = 550 \\ 80t = 550 \\ t = 550/80 = 6.875 \)
6.875 minutes is about 6 minutes and 52 seconds.
The two started at 6:45, so they arrive at about \(6:51:52\) P.M. when they meet.
Thanks! :)