Do you remember them? The story went something like this:
A set out for B’s house, three miles away, at d miles an hour. B set out for A’s house at the same time, at e miles an hour. State the formulae for calculating the time t minutes before they meet, and the position of the point p where this occurs.
They talked for five minutes, then headed for B’s house at f miles an hour. Meanwhile, five minutes after they started out, C set out for B’s house at g miles an hour. State the formula… And so on…
This post was prompted by the ‘100 word challenge’ here.
It is based on some memories of long ago!
Yes, many a maths lesson spent totally confused by this type of problem. Thanks for the memories
Yes, this reminded me of school days too. Never did see the point of this type of question but I’m sure that it must have been useful for something in my life. I’ll stick to writing rather than calculating. Thanks for the giggle at the memories.
Oh I remember those dreadful things. I always wanted to know why the men were digging the ditch anyway (remember that one?) Great take on the prompt Phil. As always – many thanks for joining in!
Not good memories… but a really good interpretation of the prompt.
I only like those kinds of math problems when the answer is a punchline. (This actually sounds like a real one!)
Brilliant.
oh my god, I’m reliving maths hell right now 😛