SOLUTION: A sailboat leavea the harbor traveling at 36mph.four hours later ,a motorboat begins to pursue thesailboat at the speed of 60mph.

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Question 213518: A sailboat leavea the harbor traveling at 36mph.four hours later ,a motorboat begins to pursue thesailboat at the speed of 60mph. a. How long will it take the motorboat to catch up to the sailboat ? b. How far from the harbor will they meet?
Answer by josmiceli(19441) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Assume I have a stopwatch and I start it
when the motorboat leaves.
The sailboat has got a headstart of
36%2A4+=+144 mi
When I start the stopwatch, they will both
travel for the same amount of time, but the motorboat
has to go 144 mi farther
For the sailboat,
d+=+36t
For the motorboat,
d+%2B+144+=+60t
By substitution:
36t+%2B+144+=+60t
24t+=+144
t+=+6 hrs
The motorboat catches the sailboat in 6 hrs
d+=+36t
d+=+36%2A6
d+=+216 mi
This is how far the sailboat goes after I start
the stopwatch. The distance from the harbor is
360 mi
144+%2B+216+=+360