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Bunuel
Andrew starts moving from A to B, a distance of 200 km, at a speed of 40 km/hr. At the same time, Bob starts moving from B at a speed of 20 Km/hr along a road which is perpendicular to AB. In how many hours the distance between Andrew and Bob will be the least?

A. 1.5 hr
B. 2 hr
C. 3 hr
D. 4 hr
E. 5 hr

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The answer is (E) .

This is because after the start anytime the distance between Andrew and Bob is always the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle and the hypotenuse is always the largest side .

It will only not be the hypotenuse when Andrew reaches the other end of AB . It will take 5 hour to reach B by Andrew. Therefore (E)
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Attachment:
Hypotenuse.PNG
Hypotenuse.PNG [ 8.49 KiB | Viewed 4767 times ]

In a right angle triangle

\(hypotenuse^2\) (\(A'C^2\)) = \((A'B)^2\) + \((BC)^2\)

i.e \(d^2\) = \((200 - \) distance travelled by andrew in time t)\(^2\) + (distance travelled by bob in time t)\(^2\)

= \((200 - 40t)^2\) + \((20t)^2\)

Plugging in the various options gives:

1. \((140)^2\) + \((30)^2\) = \((10)^2\) * (\(14^2\) + \(3^2\)) = 100 * (196 + 9)

2. \((120)^2\) + \((40)^2\) = \((10)^2\) * (\(12^2\) + \(4^2\)) = 100 * (144 + 16)

3. \((80)^2\) + \((60)^2\) = \((10)^2\) * (\(8^2\) + \(6^2\)) = 100 * (64 + 36)

4. \((40)^2\) + \((80)^2\) = \((10)^2\) * (\(4^2\) + \(8^2\)) = 100 * (16 + 64)

5. \((0)^2\) + \((100)^2\) = \((10)^2\) * (\(10^2\)) = 100 * (100)

Since option D returns the lowest value, it is the correct answer
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Bunuel
Andrew starts moving from A to B, a distance of 200 km, at a speed of 40 km/hr. At the same time, Bob starts moving from B at a speed of 20 Km/hr along a road which is perpendicular to AB. In how many hours the distance between Andrew and Bob will be the least?

A. 1.5 hr
B. 2 hr
C. 3 hr
D. 4 hr
E. 5 hr


They are moving in perpendicular direction.
And the distance between them will be the hypotenuse of the right angled triangle formed.

After T hours Andrew traveled 40T so he is (200 - 40T) km away from B and Bob traveled 20T
The hypotenuse will be \sqrt{(200-40T)^2 + (20T)^2}
For convenience in calculation we can take 10 out of the square root and get \sqrt{400+20T^2-160T}*10

So we need to find minimum value of this expression.
First derivative is 40T - 160 = 0
And second derivative is 40
So T = 4
So after 4 hours it will be optimum and it's a minimum as second derivative is positive. Also logically we can say the maximum distance can be undefined if they keep on traveling.
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This is a direct approach which does not involve analyzing and comparing all the answer options.

Assume that the distance between Andrew and Bob will be the least after they have been travelling for 'x' hrs. At that point, Andrew and Bob will have traveled 40x and 20x kms and their distances from B will be (200-40x) and 20x kms from B respectively. The distance between them will be the length of the hypotenuse (H) of a right-angled triangle the other two sides of which is (200-40x) and 20x.

H^2 = (200-40x)^2 + (20x)^2...........(i)
If we can determine for what value of 'x' the value of the RHS of (i) will be the least, we will have our answer.
(200-40x)^2 + (20x)^2 = 20^2{100 - 5(8x - x^2)}.........(ii)
It is obvious that the value of (ii) will be minimum when (8x-x^2) is maximum. This will be when 'x'=8/2=4 [As a rule, the value of an expression of the form (px-x^2) is maximum when x=p/2]
ANS: D
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Bunuel
Andrew starts moving from A to B, a distance of 200 km, at a speed of 40 km/hr. At the same time, Bob starts moving from B at a speed of 20 Km/hr along a road which is perpendicular to AB. In how many hours the distance between Andrew and Bob will be the least?

A. 1.5 hr
B. 2 hr
C. 3 hr
D. 4 hr
E. 5 hr

Are You Up For the Challenge: 700 Level Questions

Either check by using options, (D) gives approx 89km which is the least compared to others.
Or, use the concept of minima. Let time is t hours.
Hypotenuse i.e. the distance between Andrew and Bob will be \(h^2=(200-40t)^2 + (20t)^2\) or, \(h^2=2000t^2 - 16000t + 40000\)
\(h^2=2000t^2 - 16000t + 40000\) will be minimum for t=-(-16000)/(2*2000)=4(D).
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\(D^2=(200-40t)^2+(20t)^2\\
\\
2(200-40t)*(-40)+800t=0\\
=>800t-80(200-40t)=0\\
=>4000t-16000=0\\
=>t=4\)
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