SOLUTION: Two vehicles, a car and a truck. leave an intersection at the same time. The car heads east at an average speed of 60 miles per hour, while the truck heads south at an average spee

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Question 227708: Two vehicles, a car and a truck. leave an intersection at the same time. The car heads east at an average speed of 60 miles per hour, while the truck heads south at an average speed of 20 miles per hour. Find an expression for their distance apart d in miles at the end of t hours.
Answer by drj(1380) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Two vehicles, a car and a truck. leave an intersection at the same time. The car heads east at an average speed of 60 miles per hour, while the truck heads south at an average speed of 20 miles per hour. Find an expression for their distance apart d in miles at the end of t hours.

Step 1. distance= speed * time.

Step 2. Let 60t be the car traveling EAST at 60 miles per hour after t hours

Step 3. Let 20t be the distance of the truck traveling SOUTH at 20 miles per hour after t hours.

Step 4. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance d (hypotenuse) given as the sum of the squares of the legs (legs for our example given as 60t and 20t) is equal to the square of the hypotenuse d.

d%5E2=%2860t%29%5E2%2B%2820t%29%5E2

d%5E2=3600t%5E2%2B400t%5E2

d%5E2=4000t%5E2

Take the square root to both sides of the equation yields

d=t%2Asqrt%284000%29=63.24t

Step 5. ANSWER is d=t%2Asqrt%284000%29=63.24t


I hope the above steps were helpful.

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And good luck in your studies!

Respectfully,
Dr J
http://www.FreedomUniversity.TV