Question 998446
Two skaters are racing toward the finish line of a race.
 The first skater has a 40 meter lead and is traveling at a rate of 12 meters per second.
 The second skater is traveling at a rate of 14 meters per second.
 How long will it take the second skater to pass the second skater?
Y axis meter
X axis seconds per meter
:
The first skater equation
y = 12x + 40 (red)
the second skater equation
y = 14x (green)
:
Graphically
{{{ graph( 300, 200, -6, 30, -100, 400, 12x+40, 14x) }}} 
point of intersection is time and distance that the 2nd skater overtakes the 1st
:
Difficult to see on the graph but we can solve it y=y, therefore
14x = 12x + 40
14x - 12x = 40
2x = 40
x = 40/2
x = 20 seconds for skater 2 to pass skater 1