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Joseph Fithian
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Trainer Installer at Wycliffe Associates

Jo

"A truck traveling at 60/Mph down a straight road reaches a train traveling at 50/Mph. In one mile the trucks front bumper passes the front of the train traveling parallel and straight. With no other variables needed, how long is the train?" How do you answer this question in an interview?

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about 8 years ago
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Lawrence White
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Hi, Joseph! I did some math and figured out the answer.

If the truck is going 60 mph, then it took one minute for the truck to go one mile. The difference between the speeds of the train and truck is 10 mph; if the truck is going 60 mph and the train is going 50 mph, it would take the same amount of time for the truck to pass the train as if the train was stopped and the truck was going 10 mph.

So now we need to figure out how far a truck going 10 mph goes after one minute. 10 miles per hour divided by 60 minutes in an hour equals 0.167 miles in one minute. Converted into feet, that’s 880 feet!

It seems like if this question is asked in a job interview, they're evaluating your problem solving skills more than your math skills. If you're ever asked a question like this, stay confident and give it your best shot! Best of luck :)

8y
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