1. ## speed problem

PLEASE SOME ONE HELP ME SOLVE THIS PROBLEM !!!!!

A car is traveling at a constant speed of 65 mph along a road parallel to a railroad track. The car overtakes a mile long train (traveling in the same direction) traveling at a constant speed of 60 mph. How long does it take from the time the car passes the rear of the train until it passes the engine at the head of the train? Please write the equation and explain how you get the equation to solve the problem and solve the problem.

2. Originally Posted by brendacf06
PLEASE SOME ONE HELP ME SOLVE THIS PROBLEM !!!!!

A car is traveling at a constant speed of 65 mph along a road parallel to a railroad track. The car overtakes a mile long train (traveling in the same direction) traveling at a constant speed of 60 mph. How long does it take from the time the car passes the rear of the train until it passes the engine at the head of the train? Please write the equation and explain how you get the equation to solve the problem and solve the problem.

There is no equation just reasoning. The car is passing the train at a relative speed of 5 mph. The train is 1 mile long so the car takes 1/5 of an hour to pass it, or 12 minutes.

RonL

3. Originally Posted by brendacf06
PLEASE SOME ONE HELP ME SOLVE THIS PROBLEM !!!!!

A car is traveling at a constant speed of 65 mph along a road parallel to a railroad track. The car overtakes a mile long train (traveling in the same direction) traveling at a constant speed of 60 mph. How long does it take from the time the car passes the rear of the train until it passes the engine at the head of the train? Please write the equation and explain how you get the equation to solve the problem and solve the problem.
There is an equation, but the notation can get very confusing. I recommend that you learn it the way CaptainBlack suggested. However for the sake of completeness:

Define two inertial reference frames, A and B, where B is moving with a constant velocity v with respect to A. Then the symbol $v_A$ will denote the speed of an object measured in reference to frame A. Then we have the equation:
$v_B = v_A + v$
as a vector equation.

Do not try to use this if you have not heard of these terms before!

-Dan