The winner of the track meet had an average speed of 5 meter

The winner of the track meet had an average speed of 5 meters per second. The second place runner had an average speed of 4.5 meters per second. IF the winner finished 2.2 seconds ahead of the second place runner, how long did it take the winner to cross the finish line?

Solution

Let t = winners time to the finish line (in seconds)
then
(t+2.2) = 2nd place runner to finish line
:
Both runners covered the same distance, write a dist equation: dist = speed * time
:
5t = 4.5(t+2.2)
:
5t = 4.5t + 9.9
:
5t - 4.5t = 9.9
:
.5t = 9.9
Multiply both sides by 2
t = 19.8 seconds for the winner to cross the finish line