Graham is hiking at an altitude of 14,040 feet and is descending 50 feet each minute.Max is hiking at an altitude of 12,500 feet and is ascending 20 feet each minute. How many minutes will it take until they're at the same altitude?
Set up the Altitude function A(m) where m is the number of minutes that went by since now.
Set up Graham's altitude function A(m):
A(m) = 14040 - 50m <-- we subtract for descending
Set up Max's altitude function A(m):
A(m) = 12500 + 20m <-- we add for ascending
Set the altitudes equal to each other to solve for m:
14040 - 50m = 12500 + 20m
We type this equation into our search engine to solve for m and we get:
m = 22
Set up the Altitude function A(m) where m is the number of minutes that went by since now.
Set up Graham's altitude function A(m):
A(m) = 14040 - 50m <-- we subtract for descending
Set up Max's altitude function A(m):
A(m) = 12500 + 20m <-- we add for ascending
Set the altitudes equal to each other to solve for m:
14040 - 50m = 12500 + 20m
We type this equation into our search engine to solve for m and we get:
m = 22