Speed P6 2009 SA2 P2 MGS Q17

17. At 7 am, a car started travelling from Town A towards Town B at an average speed of 64 km/h. At 10 am, a van started travelling from Town A towards Town B at an average speed of 56 km/h. By then, the car had already covered 2/5 of the entire journey.

a) What was the distance between Town A and Town B?

b) How far from Town A had the van travelled when the car reached Town B?

          64 km/h

       7 am    3 h  

C     A [         ][         ][         ][         ][         ] B

V        [                           ]

      10 am

          56 km/h

2 u -- > 64 x 3 = 192

5 u -- > 5/2 x 192 = 480 km

a) The distance between Town A and Town B is 480 km.

2 u -- > 3 h

3 u -- > 3/2 x 3 = 4.5 h

56 x 4.5 = 252 km

b) The van had travelled 252 km from Town A when the car reached Town B.