It takes [tex]\frac{4}{5}[/tex] hours or 48 minutes before they meet if their houses are 4 miles apart
Solution:
Let "t" be the number of hours it will take them to meet
Walking speed of Fred = 3 miles per hour
Walking speed of John = 2 miles per hour
Distance between their house = 4 miles
Distance is given by formula:
Distance = speed x time
Fred distance = walking speed of Fred x time taken
Fred distance = 3t
John distance = walking speed of John x time taken
John distance = 2t
Therefore,
3t + 2t = 4
5t = 4
[tex]t = \frac{4}{5}[/tex] hours
We know that,
1 hour = 60 minutes
Therefore,
[tex]\frac{4}{5} \text{ hours } = \frac{4}{5} \times 60 \text{ minutes } = 48 minutes[/tex]
Thus it takes [tex]\frac{4}{5}[/tex] hours or 48 minutes before they meet