Question

An air traffic controller is tracking two planes. To start, Plane A is at altitude of 2639 feet and Plane B is just taking off. Plane A is gaining altitude at 35.25 feet per second and Plane B is gaining altitude at 80.75 feet per second

How many seconds will pass before the planes are at the same altitude?
What will their altitude be when they're at the same altitude?

Answer 1

Explanation:

To find the number of seconds it will take for the planes to be at the same altitude, we need to set the altitude equations for both planes equal to each other and solve for time:

2639 + 35.25t = h (altitude equation for Plane A)

0 + 80.75t = h (altitude equation for Plane B)

where h is the altitude of both planes when they are at the same altitude, and t is the number of seconds that have passed.

Setting the two equations equal to each other and solving for t, we get:

2639 + 35.25t = 80.75t

45.5t = 2639

t = 58

Therefore, it will take 58 seconds for the planes to be at the same altitude.

To find their altitude at that time, we can substitute t = 58 into either of the altitude equations and solve for h:

2639 + 35.25t = h

2639 + 35.25(58) = h

h = 4818.5

Therefore, when the planes are at the same altitude, their altitude will be approximately 4818.5 feet.