Bunuel
Tough and Tricky questions: Geometry.
In the figure above, car A and car B simultaneously begin traveling around a circular park with an area of 1256 square miles. Both cars leave from the same point, the START location shown in the figure, and drive with constant speeds until they meet. Car A travels counter-clockwise at 40 miles/hour and car B travels clockwise at 60 miles/hour. Which of the following is closest to the number of minutes it takes the cars to meet?
A. 30
B. 40
C. 75
D. 125
E. 180
Kudos for a correct solution.Attachment:
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OFFICIAL SOLUTION:(C) To visualize this question, think about a circle as just a line segment joined at its two ends. Let’s first cut the circle at the starting point and make it into a straight line. Notice that cars A and B are at opposite ends of the line traveling toward each other.
A [ ______________________ ] B
We know that the area of the circular park is 1256 square miles and that the area of a circle is equal to πr². So, 1256 = πr². Divide by 3.14, our approximation of π.
1256/3.14 = 400 = r².r = 20 miles.
Now, solve for the circumference of the park: C = 2πr. Plugging 20 into the equation, we get:C = 2 × 3.14 × 20 = 125.6 miles.
To calculate how long it takes to meet, combine the speeds of car A and car B to see how long it would take them to travel 125.6 miles.
Car A and car B are traveling toward each other at the rate of 40 + 60 = 100 miles per hour (because they are heading toward each other, we add their speeds together). At 100 mph, it will take them 1.256 hours to travel 125.6 miles and meet up.
Multiply 1.256 hours by 60 (because there are 60 minutes in one hour, and we are looking for the answer in minutes): 1.256 × 60, which is approximately 75 minutes.
The correct answer is choice (C).