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The distance between A and B is 72 km. Two men started walking from A and B at the same time towards each other. The person who started from A travelled uniformly with average speed 4 kmph, while the other man travelled with varying speeds. In the first hour, his speed was 2 kmph, in the second hour, it was 2.5 kmph, in the third hour, it was 3 kmph and so on. When will they meet each other?
  • a)
    7 hours
  • b)
    10 hours
  • c)
    35 km from A
  • d)
    Mid-way between A and B
  • e)
    Cannot be determined
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?
Most Upvoted Answer
The distance between A and B is 72 km. Two men started walking from A...
Problem Analysis:
The two men start simultaneously from points A and B, respectively. The person who started from point A has a uniform speed of 4 kmph. The other man, however, has a varying speed, starting at 2 kmph and increasing by 0.5 kmph every hour. We need to find the time taken by both the men to meet each other.

Solution:
To solve the problem, we can use the formula:

Time taken = Distance/Relative Speed

Relative Speed is the difference between the speeds of the two men.

Let's assume that the two men meet after 't' hours at a point 'x' km from point A. Then, the distance covered by the man starting from A in 't' hours is 4t km, and the distance covered by the other man is:

2 kmph × 1 hour + 2.5 kmph × 1 hour + 3 kmph × 1 hour + ... (up to t hours)

= (2 + 2.5 + 3 + ... t) km

= t(2 + t/2) km (using the formula for sum of an arithmetic series)

Therefore, the distance between A and x is 4t km, and the distance between B and x is 72 - 4t km. Hence, we get the following equation:

4t + t(2 + t/2) = 72

Simplifying the above equation, we get:

t² + 8t - 72 = 0

Solving the quadratic equation, we get:

t = 6 or t = -12

Since t is the time taken, it cannot be negative. Therefore, t = 6.

This means that the two men meet each other after 6 hours of walking. To find the point where they meet, we substitute t = 6 in the equation for the distance covered by the other man:

Distance covered by the other man in 6 hours = 6(2 + 6/2) km = 27 km.

Therefore, the two men meet at a point which is 27 km from point A and 45 km from point B. This is exactly halfway between A and B.

Option (d) is the correct answer.

Final Answer: The two men meet each other after 6 hours of walking at a point which is halfway between A and B.
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Community Answer
The distance between A and B is 72 km. Two men started walking from A...
Let x and y be the persons who started from A and B, respectively.
Mid-way between A and B means 36 km from A and B both. x will take 9 hours to reach the mid-point. In 9 hours, y will also cover 2 + 2.5 + 3 + 3.5 + 4 + 4.5 + 5 + 5.5 + 6 = 36 km. Thus, y will also reach the mid-point at the same time.
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The distance between A and B is 72 km. Two men started walking from A and B at the same time towards each other. The person who started from A travelled uniformly with average speed 4 kmph, while the other man travelled with varying speeds. In the first hour, his speed was 2 kmph, in the second hour, it was 2.5 kmph, in the third hour, it was 3 kmph and so on. When will they meet each other?a)7 hoursb)10 hoursc)35 km from Ad)Mid-way between A and Be)Cannot be determinedCorrect answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?
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