A tortoise challenges a hare to a four-hour race. The hare is so confident of winning that he allows the tortoise to start with a 10-mile lead. The hare runs at a speed of 14 miles per hour, but stops for a two-hour nap in the middle of the race. The tortoise plods along at 4 miles per hour the whole race. Who gets farther in four hours?

Question

Mathematics

Tania Goodwin

2 April, 14:36

A tortoise challenges a hare to a four-hour race. The hare is so confident of winning that he allows the tortoise to start with a 10-mile lead. The hare runs at a speed of 14 miles per hour, but stops for a two-hour nap in the middle of the race. The tortoise plods along at 4 miles per hour the whole race. Who gets farther in four hours?

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Answers (1)

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Koen Jacobson · Answer 1

Count the distances that a tortoise and a hare completed.

1. Tortoise. The speed of the tortoise is constant and equal to 4 miles per hour. Then in 4 hours the tortoise completed 4·4=16 miles. It has a 10-mile lead, then the distance that the tortoise completed in total is 10+16=26 miles.

2. Hare. The speed of the hare is constant and equal to 14 miles per hour. But the hare stops for a two-hour nap, then the hare was 4-2=2 hours running. Then the distance that hare completed is 14·2=28 miles.

3. As you can see the hare gets farther than tortoise 2 miles.