TS #3 QR question

Started by ScottW3
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ScottW3

Senior Member
15+ Year Member
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I've got a question about a math problem from topscore 3. I'm sorry, I can't be more detailed, but I don't have TS with me, and my test is tomorrow. Maybe someone can remember by my description.

It was a train problem. 2 trains, start towards each other from cities Z miles apart (can't remember exact number) at 10 am. They pass each other at 1:30 pm. The faster train's speed exceeds the slower train's speed by 6 mph. How fast is the slower train?

I thought I was doing this correctly. Here is how I set it up, maybe you can show me what I did wrong.

Slow Train:
let x=distance the slower train traveled until the two trains passed.
let y=speed of slower train
D=RT
x=y*3.5

Fast train:
D=RT
Z-x=(y+6)*3.5 (Z is the distance of the cities that they gave in the problem)
Z-3.5y=3.5y+21
Z-21=7y
(Z-21)/7=y

For some reason i wasn't getting the right answer. Is this the way to set it up? Did I just make a dumb mistake in calculating? If I had TS with me I'd check to make sure it wasn't just a math problem. I appoligize in advance if thats all it was. I just know if I don't figure it out, problem #1 in QR tomorrow will be "Two trains start out...."

Thanks