I was going to take a trip to my friend's house in San Jose by airplane. If my airplane had arrived on time as scheduled, my friend would drive out to pick me up from San Jose's airport. She would get to the ariport just as I would be leaving it, and drive me to her house. This way, I would come to her house at 12:00.

But as it happened, my airplane arrived at the airport 1 hour earlier. So I walked from the airport directly to my friend's house. On the way to her house, I met her driving to pick me up. I got into the car, and we drove me to the house. This way, I arrived at the house at 11:40.

How long did I spend walking? (The only thing known about my walking speed and my friend's driving speed is that they are different and they are constant.)

The car arrived home 20 minutes earlier than expected (11:40 instead of 12:00). As a result, it must have driven 10 minutes less each way than had been expected. So, the car and person met 10 minutes earlier than expected, i.e. 10 minutes before the plane was originally due to arrive. As the plane actually arrived 1 hour early, we can conclude the person walked for 50 minutes before being picked up.

Posted by Nick Reed on 2002-07-02 02:40:40