Art of Problem Solving
AoPS Online
Math texts, online classes, and more
for students in grades 5-12.
Visit AoPS Online ‚
Books for Grades 5-12 Online Courses
Beast Academy
Engaging math books and online learning
for students ages 6-13.
Visit Beast Academy ‚
Books for Ages 6-13 Beast Academy Online
AoPS Academy
Small live classes for advanced math
and language arts learners in grades 2-12.
Visit AoPS Academy ‚
Find a Physical Campus Visit the Virtual Campus

2008 AIME II Problems/Problem 2

Problem

Rudolph bikes at a constant rate and stops for a five-minute break at the end of every mile. Jennifer bikes at a constant rate which is three-quarters the rate that Rudolph bikes, but Jennifer takes a five-minute break at the end of every two miles. Jennifer and Rudolph begin biking at the same time and arrive at the $50$-mile mark at exactly the same time. How many minutes has it taken them?

Simple Solution

Let $r$ be the time Rudolph takes disregarding breaks and $\frac{4}{3}r$ be the time Jennifer takes disregarding breaks. We have the equation \[r+5\left(49\right)=\frac{4}{3}r+5\left(24\right)\] \[125=\frac13r\] \[r=375.\] Thus, the total time they take is $375 + 5(49) = \boxed{620}$ minutes.

Solution 1

Let Rudolf bike at a rate $r$, so Jennifer bikes at the rate $\dfrac 34r$. Let the time both take be $t$.

Then Rudolf stops $49$ times (because the rest after he reaches the finish does not count), losing a total of $49 \cdot 5 = 245$ minutes, while Jennifer stops $24$ times, losing a total of $24 \cdot 5 = 120$ minutes. The time Rudolf and Jennifer actually take biking is then $t - 245,\, t-120$ respectively.

Using the formula $r = \frac dt$, since both Jennifer and Rudolf bike $50$ miles,

\begin{align}r &= \frac{50}{t-245}\\ \frac{3}{4}r &= \frac{50}{t-120} \end{align}

Substituting equation $(1)$ into equation $(2)$ and simplifying, we find

\begin{align*}50 \cdot \frac{3}{4(t-245)} &= 50 \cdot \frac{1}{t-120}\\ \frac{1}{3}t &= \frac{245 \cdot 4}{3} - 120\\ t &= \boxed{620}\ \text{minutes} \end{align*}

Solution 2

Let the total time that Jennifer and Rudolph bike, including rests, to be $t$ minutes. Furthermore, let Rudolph's biking rate be $r$ so Jennifer's biking rate is $\frac{3}{4}r$. Note that Rudolf takes 49 breaks, taking $49\cdot 5$ minutes, and Jennifer takes 24 breaks, taking $24\cdot 5$ minutes. Since they both reach the 50 mile mark, then by $d=rt$, the rate times time taken for Rudolph and Jennifer must equal. Hence, we disregard the breaks from the total time taken and get the equation \[r(t-49\cdot 5)=\frac{3}{4}r(t-24\cdot 5),\]yielding $t=\boxed{620}$.

See also

2008 AIME II (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 1 		Followed by
Problem 3
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15
All AIME Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png

Retrieved from "https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=2008_AIME_II_Problems/Problem_2&oldid=106652"