How Do You Solve These Two Uniform Motion Problems?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around two uniform motion problems involving cars traveling towards or away from each other. The first problem involves calculating the time it takes for two cars moving in opposite directions to be 200 miles apart, while the second problem requires finding the speeds of two cars that meet after traveling towards each other from a distance of 300 km.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Problem interpretation, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to set up equations based on distance, speed, and time for both problems but expresses confusion about the algebra involved. Some participants suggest combining equations to solve for time and speed, while others question the setup and relationships between the variables.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problems, with some offering guidance on how to approach the equations. The original poster has received feedback that clarifies the relationships between the distances and speeds, but there is no explicit consensus on the final answers or methods.

Contextual Notes

The original poster indicates a need for assistance without providing complete solutions, and there is a mention of homework constraints that may limit the information available for solving the problems.

DB
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hey guys, in order to get the rest of problems on this sheet, i got to know how to do the first 2, and unfortunately I am stuck, could u guys gimme a push in the right direction?

1. two cars are traveling in opposite directions at the speeds of 18 mph and 22 mph respectively. if they started from the same place and same time then in how many hours will they be 200 miles apart?

so far i got:
[tex]d_1+d_2=200[/tex]

[tex]\Delta t=\frac{\Delta d}{v}[/tex]
so

[tex]\Delta t=\frac{200-d_2}{v}[/tex]

and

[tex]\Delta t=\frac{200-d_1}{v}[/tex]

can i do this?:

[tex]\frac{200-d_2}{v}=\frac{200-d_1}{v}[/tex]
if i can, then the algebra's got me stuck

------------
2. two cars started towards each other at the same time from points which are 300 km apart, and met in 5 hours. if one traveled twice the speed of the other, then wat were their speeds?

so far i know i have use:

[tex]v=\frac{\Delta d}{\Delta t}[/tex]

and

[tex]v_1=x[/tex]
[tex]v_2=2x[/tex]

but then I am stumped, i know i need another equation with the 300 km but i can't see it :(

thanks in advance
 
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The same approach will work for both problems.

For the first problem, realize that:
[tex]d_1 = v_1 t[/tex]
[tex]d_2 = v_2 t[/tex]

Just combine with your equation:
[tex]d_1+d_2=200[/tex]
and solve for t.

For the second problem, just like the first problem you have:
[tex]d_1+d_2=300[/tex]

And you have:
[tex]d_1 = v_1 t[/tex]
[tex]d_2 = v_2 t = 2 v_1 t[/tex]

This time t is known. Combine these and solve for [itex]v_1[/itex], and then [itex]v_2[/itex].
 
wow i feel stupid its so easy! lol anyway i get 5 hours for the first n 20 km/h n 40 km/h for the second, thanks doc al.
 
DB said:
anyway i get 5 hours for the first n 20 km/h n 40 km/h for the second
Right. Don't forget that in the second problem you need to find the speeds of both cars.
 

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