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Algebra Difficulty 6.3 National olympiad Find the answer Belarus

A village MM is on the road between the villages AA and BB. The distance between AA and MM is twice as long as the distance between BB and MM. Ann, Bob and Tom live in AA, BB, and MM respectively. One time Tom invites Ann and Bob to a game of chess. Ann and Bob walk along the road with constant and equal speeds and they start from their villages at the same time. Tom has a motorbike. Tom has two possibilities: he rides towards Ann and brings her to MM and after that he rides towards Bob and brings him to MM, or he rides towards Bob and brings him to MM and after that he rides towards Ann and brings her to MM. The total time in the first case differs from the total time in the second case by 2.4 minutes. The speed of the motorbike is nine times as fast as the speed of the pedestrians.
How long it takes Ann to achieve MM on foot?

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

1. Answer: 2 hours.
Let the distance between BB and MM be SS (km), then the distance between AA and MM is 2S2S. Denote by vv (km/h) the speed of Ann and Bob, then the speed of Tom on a motorbike is 9v9v.

Consider the case in which Tom first drives Ann. Since the distance between AA and MM is 2S2S, and the rate of convergence of Ann and Tom is v+9v=10vv + 9v = 10v, Ann and Tom will meet through 2S10v=S5v\frac{2S}{10v} = \frac{S}{5v} (h). After the same time Tom and Ann on a motorbike will drive from the meeting point to MM. During this time equaled 2S5v=2S5v2 \cdot \frac{S}{5v} = \frac{2S}{5v}. Bob will pass the distance v2S5v=2S5v \cdot \frac{2S}{5v} = \frac{2S}{5}. Therefore, when Tom with Ann will be in MM, the distance between him and Bob will equal to S2S5=3S5S - \frac{2S}{5} = \frac{3S}{5}. Therefore, after leaving MM Tom will meet and pick up Bob in 3S5:10v=3S50v\frac{3S}{5} : 10v = \frac{3S}{50v}. The same time Tom (with Bob) will drive back to MM. As a result, all three friends will be in MM in 2S5v+23S50v=13S25v\frac{2S}{5v} + 2 \cdot \frac{3S}{50v} = \frac{13S}{25v} (h) after the start of the motion.

Similarly, calculate the time in the case in which Tom first drives up Bob. Time of Tom on the way to a meeting with Bob and back to MM equals S5v\frac{S}{5v}. During this time, Ann will pass the distance S5\frac{S}{5}. Therefore, when Tom (with Bob arrive) to MM, Ann will be at a distance of 2SS5=9S52S - \frac{S}{5} = \frac{9S}{5}. Then Tom will need 29S5:10v=18S50v2 \cdot \frac{9S}{5} : 10v = \frac{18S}{50v} for the road from MM to the meeting with Ann and back. As a result, in this case, all three friends will be in MM in S5v+18S50v=14S25v\frac{S}{5v} + \frac{18S}{50v} = \frac{14S}{25v} (h) after the start of the motion.

By condition, the total time for the whole path in the first case differs from the time in the second case by 2.4 minutes, i.e. by 125\frac{1}{25} hours. Therefore:
14S25v13S25v=125, \frac{14S}{25v} - \frac{13S}{25v} = \frac{1}{25},
whence Sv=1\frac{S}{v} = 1. This means that Ann covers the distance SS by foot for 1 hour, so it takes her 2 hours for the distance from AA to MM.

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