Question

A passenger plane left the airport and flew
south at an average speed of 425 mph. A
cargo plane left sometime later flying in
the opposite direction with an average
speed of 302 mph. After the passenger
plane had flown for eight hours the planes
were 4608 mi. apart. How long did the
cargo plane fly?

Answer 1

Answer:

The cargo plane flew 1208 miles, and it took 4 hours.

Step-by-step explanation:

4608 miles is the distance between the passenger plane and the cargo plane.

This distance can be expressed as the sum of the distance that the passenger plane had flown and the distance that the cargo plane had flown.

Distance Apart = Distance Flown (Passenger) + Distance Flown (Cargo)

So, to find the distance flown by the cargo plane, we need both the distance between the 2 planes and the distance flown by the passenger plane.

We know that the distance apart is 4608 mi.

How far did the passenger plane fly?

We can find the distance flown by the passenger plane by multiplying its speed by the time it was flying.

$distance = speed * time$

Speed = 425 mph

Time = 8 hours

$distance\ (passenger) = 425 * 8\\distance\ (passenger) = 3400$

The passenger plane flew 3400 mi.

How far did the cargo plane fly?

Now we can find the distance flown by the cargo plane:

Distance Apart = Distance Flown (Passenger) + Distance Flown (Cargo)

$4608 = 3400 + distance$

Subtract 3400 from both sides:

$1208 = distance$

The cargo plane flew 1208 miles.

For how long did the cargo plane flow?

If we want to find for how long it flew, we can divide the distance by its speed.

$distance = speed * time$

$time = \frac{distance}{speed}$

Distance = 1208 mi

Speed = 302 mph

$time = \frac{1208}{302} = 4$

Answer: The cargo plane flew 1208 miles, and it took 4 hours.