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Can you solve this hard deduction problem?

Two missiles are fired at each other from a distance of 5,000 miles. Missile A is traveling 13,000 miles per hour, and Missile B is traveling 17,000 miles per hour. How far apart will the missiles be two minutes before they collide?

1,000 miles

um... rather than just say a number would u mind explaining how u got it?

The two missiles are heading towards each other with a combined speed of 30,000 miles per hour which works out to 500 miles per minute. Working backwards, two minutes before the collision they are exactly 1000 miles apart

They are travelling towards each other at the sum of their combined sped - 13,000 + 17,000 = 30,000 divide by 60 to get the distance per minute - 500.

500 x 2 - 1,000

I'm probably wrong anyway - was worth a try.

If you'r wrong, then I'm wrong

Well, it went quiet after we explained didn't it?

icauser44 -Three of us agree with the calculation which you requested. A 'thank you' is always appreciated

I think you need to use velocities, since they are travelling in opposite directions. Then I reckon they would meet after about 10 minutes, and after 8 minutes would be about 534 miles apart.

But it's many years since I did maths, so I may be wrong.

I'm sorry to say, the previous answers are correct, jazzlover. (You can often be sure in questions like these when the answer is a neat one.)

You got your figures by assuming that they are travelling in the same direction, starting 5,000 miles apart. If the faster one is behind the slower one, then indeed they will be 534 miles apart after 8 minutes.