Monkey in the Middle
Pro Problems > Math > Algebra > Equations > Word Problems > Linear > Rate and TimeMonkey in the Middle
Geoge the Monkey can run at a speed of 12 mph. Hazel can walk at a rate of 4 mph, and Henrietta can walk at a rate of 2 mph.
George is standing halfway between Hazel and Henrietta, who are 1,320 feet apart, and begin walking toward each other.
At the moment they begin walking, George begins running toward Hazel. When he reaches her, he turns around and runs to Henrietta. Upon reaching her, he turns around again, and continues on like this, until the two girls meet, and he is sandwiched between them.
How far did George run?
Solution
In order to make it feasible for teachers to use these problems in their classwork, no solutions are publicly visible, so students cannot simply look up the answers. If you would like to view the solutions to these problems, you must have a Virtual Classroom subscription.Similar Problems
Lawnmower Race
Samwise can mow 5 lawns in 9 hours, and Frodo can mow 1 lawn in 4 hours. Samwise, Frodo, and Bilbo, working together, can mow 20 lawns in 18 hours. How many minutes does it take Bilbo to mow 3 lawns?
A Boy and a Half
A boy and a half can eat a cookie and a half in a minute and a half. How long, in seconds, would it take 5 boys to eat 8 cookies?
Mowing Lawns
Greg can mow a lawn in 4 hours. Rudy can mow a lawn in 3 hours. If they work together, how many hours will it take them to mow 14 lawns?
Owen and the Books
Owen can read a 100 page book, which had 500 words per page. It took him 2 hours less time than it takes him to read a 150 page book with 600 words per page. How long would it take him to read a 400 page book which had 400 words per page?
Three Racers
Jill runs three as fast as Jack. Henry runs five times as fast as Jack. All three children run a 100 meter dash. When the race is over, how far behind Jill is Jack?
Arrival Time
Two trains are traveling from Washington DC to Bangor, ME. The first train leaves Washington DC and travels to Boston, MA (430 miles) and has a two hour stop before continuing on to Bangor (250 miles).
The second train leaves Washington DC one and a half hour later than the first train. It travels by way of Albany, NY (338 miles) and then continues directly on to Bangor (400 miles).
If the first train travels at 34 mph, how fast does the second train have to travel to reach Bangor at the same time as the first train?
Waiting for Christmas
My son said, "Daddy, I can't wait for Christmas. How long is it until Christmas?"
I told him, "The number of days left until Christmas is 30 more than the number of weeks until Christmas."
What day is it?
Jack and Jane
Jack can mow a lawn in 6 hours, and Jane can mow it in 4 hours. If they work together, how long will it take them to mow the lawn? Give your answer in minutes.
Traveling to the City
A car travels from city A to city B in 12 hours. It then travels from city B to city C at the same speed, in 8 hours. If the car was traveling 5 mph faster, it would have traveled from city A to city B in 10 hours. What is the distance from city B to city C?
Daylight Savings Time
A clock adjusts its timing each night by contacting a satellite at 2:00 AM to find out the official standard time. Since it has a mechanical action with physical minute, second and hour hands, if the clock finds out it is out of sync, it will move at 12 times normal speed in order to "catch up" with the actual time. (If it is ahead of the correct time, it will still move forward, until it wraps around to the correct time.)
In the fall, when Daylight Savings Time happens, at 2:00 the satellite tells the clock that it is actually 1:00. Thus, the clock has to move forward at high speed until it wraps around to the correct time.
How long will it take the clock to be displaying the correct time again?