Hi All,
We're told that Nicky and Cristina are running a 1,000-meter race and since Cristina is faster than Nicky, she gives him a 12 seconds head start. Cristina runs at a pace of 5 meters per second and Nicky runs at a pace of only 3 meters per second. We're asked how many seconds Nicky will have run before Cristina catches up to him. This is an example of a "chase down" question (in which one entity gets a 'head start' and then a second entity eventually catches-up to the first). These questions can be solved in a couple of ways, including by TESTing THE ANSWERS. Let's start by TESTing Answer B...
Answer B: 18 seconds
IF.... Nicky runs for 18 seconds, then he runs (18)(3) = 54 meters
Since Nicky had a 12 second head start, Cristina runs for just 18 - 12 = 6 seconds
Cristina runs (6)(5) = 30 meters, meaning that she has NOT caught up with Nicky yet. Thus, they both need to run for a LONGER period of time. Let's TEST Answer D next...
Answer D: 30 seconds
IF.... Nicky runs for 30 seconds, then he runs (30)(3) = 90 meters
Since Nicky had a 12 second head start, Cristina runs for 30 - 12 = 18 seconds
Cristina runs (18)(5) = 90 meters. This is the same distance that Nicky runs, so Cristina has caught-up to Nicky and this MUST be the answer.
Final Answer:
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich