I am having trouble solving this problem. In particular I am having difficulty translating this problem into an equation.
Question:
A train leaves a station and travels east at 75 km/h. Two and a half hours later, a second train leaves the same station on a parallel track travelling east at 125 km/h. How far from the station will the second train overtake the first train?
I believe that when the second train leaves, the first train is $187.5$ km from the station:
$75\times2.5 = 187.5$
By the time the second train gets to the position of where the first train was when it (second train) left, the first train will have moved for another 1.5 hours:
$187.5\div125=1.5$
The first train would now be $300km$ away from the station.
$75\times1.5=112.5$
$112.5+187.5=300$
I am honestly just having trouble thinking through this problem. I also think that the way I am currently thinking about solving this is either incorrect or more complicated than needed.
If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be greatly appreciated.
The second train travels 50 kph faster than the first train. Each hour, the distance between the two trains closes by 50 km. To catch up a total distance of 187.5 km at a rate of 50 km/h...