A thief is spotted by a policeman from a distance of 400m. When the policeman starts chasing, the thief also starts running. If the speed of the thief is 32km/h and that of the policeman is 40 km/h, then how far would the thief have run before he is overtaken?
This questions was previously asked in
Combined Graduate Level Examination Tier I 2023
Explanation:
- The thief starts running with a speed of 32 km/h, while the policeman runs faster at 40 km/h.
- The speed difference between the policeman and the thief is 40 - 32 = 8 km/h.
- Convert this speed difference to meters per second: 8 km/h = (8 × 1000)/3600 = 2.22 m/s.
- The policeman starts the chase 400 meters behind the thief.
- To catch the thief, the policeman needs to cover 400 meters more than the thief.
- Time taken to cover the 400-meter gap at 2.22 m/s is 400 / 2.22 = 180 seconds.
- In this time, the thief runs for 180 seconds at 32 km/h i.e., (32 × 1000)/3600 m/s = 8.89 m/s.
- Distance the thief runs: 180 × 8.89 = 1600 meters.
- Option 4: 1600m is correct.
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By: Parvesh Mehta