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The correct answer is 5 hours.
In 5 hours person A will cover 5*3 = 15 miles.
person B will cover 5*7 = 35 miles, which is one entire circumference of 20 miles plus the same 15 miles: 35 = 20 + 15.
person C will cover 5*11 = 55 miles, which is TWO TIMES entire circumference of 20 miles plus the same 15 miles: 55 = 2*20 + 15.
So, in 5 hours all three of them will be at the same point on the circumference.
To that time person A will be on the way making his first lap;
person B will complete his first lap and will be on the way making his 2-nd lap;
and person C will complete his TWO laps and will be on the way making his 3-rd lap.
It is informal solution.
The formal solution is based on the following fact:
For two bodies that started simultaneously from one point and move uniformly along the circle (along the closed path) of
the circumference S in the same direction with different speeds/rates and , > , the time from the start till the moment
when the faster body will catch the slower body is this condition
= S: the difference between the covered distanses is exactly equal to the circumference.
It is also the condition for the time duration between any two consecutive catching moments.
See the lesson
- Problems on bodies moving on a circle
in this site, where you will find the solutions to similar problems.