Question

Two buses leave Los Angeles at the same time traveling in opposite directions. One bus travels at58 mph and the other at 53 mph. How soon will they be 388.5 miles apart?

Answer 1

The two buses traveled over the same time.

Recall the formula to calculate distance:

$Distance=Speed\times Time$

Therefore, the first bus will travel a distance:

$D_1=58T$

and the second bus will travel a distance of:

$D_2=53T$

If the buses are 388.5 miles apart, then we have that:

$58T+53T=388.5$

Solving, we can solve as follows:

$\begin{gathered} 111T=388.5 \\ T=\frac{388.5}{111} \\ T=3.5 \end{gathered}$

The two buses will be 388.5 miles apart after 3.5 hours.