Summing Up the Distances

These first distance problems have a common theme that the sum of the distances that two people travel, along the same straight line, equals the total distance. Sometimes, people are traveling toward one another, and the sum 

Two lovers spy each other on opposite sides of the room and run toward one another. They meet somewhere between where they started running — and where they meet depends on how fast each can run. You can assume that there are no chairs to dodge in their mad dashes. The setup used to solve this problem is pretty much the same as a problem involving two bulls rushing at one another from either side of the arena or two trains approaching one another from opposite directions along the same track. 

Keep in mind the formula d = rt or distance = rate x time. When two different distances are added together to equal a total distance, the individual rates and times are multiplied together first and then the products are added together  

With distance problems, you can solve for the distance traveled or the speed at which objects are traveling or the amount of time spent. The two problems in this section involve solving for how much time it takes to reach a goal. 

The Problem Betsy and Bart see each other from opposite sides of a gymnasium that measures 440 feet across. They both start running toward one another at the same time. If Betsy can run at the rate of 4 feet per second and Bart runs at 7 feet per second, then how long does it take for them to meet  

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