Two towns \(A\) and \(B\) are connected by a regular bus service with a bus leaving in either direction every \(T\) minutes. A man cycling with a speed of \(20\) km h–1 in the direction \(A\) to \(B\) notices that a bus goes past him every \(18\) min in the direction of his motion, and every \(6\) min in the opposite direction. What is the period \(T\) of the bus service, and with what speed (assumed constant) do the buses ply on the road?
1. \(9\) min
2. \(6\) min
3. \(18 \) min
4. \(2 \) min
Let V be the speed of the bus running between towns A and B. Speed of the cyclist, v = 20 km/h
Relative speed of the bus moving in the direction of the cyclist = V – v = (V – 20) km/h
The bus went past the cyclist every 18 min (18/60h)
Distance covered by the bus =
Since one bus leaves after every T minutes, the distance traveled by bus will be equal to:
Both equations (1) and (2) are equal.
The relative speed of the bus moving in the opposite direction of the cyclist = (V + 20) km/h
Time is taken by the bus to go past the cyclist=
From equations (3) and (4), we get
Substituting the value of V in equation (4), we get
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