SOLUTION: Hi there and thank you in advance, here is my problem. At noon Vladimir and Estragon depart from the same point. Vladimir walks east at a constant rate of 3mph, While Estragon w

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Question 804535: Hi there and thank you in advance, here is my problem.
At noon Vladimir and Estragon depart from the same point. Vladimir walks east at a constant rate of 3mph, While Estragon walks north at a constant rate of 2mph. At what time(to the nearest minute) will they be exactly 20miles apart?
So far I have tried 2x + 3y = 20 -> y = 20/3 - 2/3x -> 2x + 3(20/3 - 2/3x) = 20
-> but then I end up with 20 = 20. So I am very confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Answer by mananth(16946) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
one walks at 3 mph
so at given time he is 3t miles away from starting point
Similarly
the other is 2t miles away
they are walking at right angles to each other
At a given time t they form a right angle with the starting point
Use Pythagoras theorem
(3t)^2+(2t)^2= 20^2
9t^2+4t^2=400
13t^2=400
t^2=400/13
t^2= 30.77
t= 5.55 minutes
say 6 minutes