CPM Homework Help : INT2 Problem 12-59

Francis and John are racing. Francis is $2$ meters in front of the starting line at time $t=0$ and he runs at a constant rate of $1$ meter per second. John is $5$ meters in front of the starting line and he runs at a constant rate of $0.75$ meters per second. After how long will Francis catch up to John?

Step 1:

Francis: $d=1t+2$
where $d=\text{distance}$ from starting line (m)
$t=\text{time}$ (seconds)

Hint 1:

Write the same type of equation for John.

More Help:

What must be true about the two equations if they are at the same distance?

Hint 2:

Use the Equal Values method to solve for $t$ .

Answer:

$12$ seconds