Eddy and Freddy start simultaneously from city A and they travel to

Speed of Eddy = 600/3 = 200 km/h
Speed of Freddy = 300/4 = 75 km/h

Required ratio = 200/75 = 8/3. Hence A answer

I consider the total distance 900 km for both. and get to 4/3. i cant get why the proposed solutions considering Eddy's distance 600 and the other 300. can you explain? ?thanks in advance

Eddy traveled to City B from City A.

Distance between City A and City B \(= 600\) kms

Time taken by Eddy to travel from city A to B \(= 3\) hours

Speed of Eddy \(= \frac{600}{3} = 200\) kms/hr

Freddy traveled to City C from City A.

Distance between City A and City C \(= 300\) kms

Time taken by Freddy to travel from city A to C \(= 4\) hours

Speed of Freddy \(= \frac{300}{4} = 75\) kms/hr

Required ratio = Average speed of Eddy / Average speed of Freddy \(= \frac{200}{75} = \frac{8}{3}\) . Answer (A) ...

Answer : A

600/3 : 300/4
200 : 75 = 8:3

I agree with you. I think the question is phrased ambiguously.

"Respectively" here could mean:

1) both Eddie and Freddie traveled to city B, then they both "doubled back" to city C (which is what I assumed, especially given test writers' penchant for subtle details); or

2) only Eddie went to city B and only Freddie went to city C.

"Respectively" typically should come at or near the end of a sentence, as long as one-to-one correspondence to its two referents is direct and apparent. "Respectively" modifies "travel," but the latter involves both the travelers and their destinations.

Yoohanna, the best I can say is that when you see the word "respectively," and it is not clear what "respectively" refers to, AND your answer doesn't show up in the choices, look for other things in the sentence to which "respectively" might refer.

The ambiguity is frustrating in an otherwise good question. YMMV

Dear Moderator,
Found this Distance , rate and speed problem in the combination section, hope you will do the needful. Thank you.

_______________
Edited. Thank you.

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