math challenge

Week of March 31 - April 6, 1997

Crash Course?

The figure is a square.

Cathy begins at point C, and skates across the diagonal, which is 200 meters long, to point D.

Adam begins at point A, and skates across the diagonal to point B.

Cathy starts at 1 meter/minute for the first minute. She changes instantaneously to 2 meters/minute for the second minute, then instantaneously to 3 meters/minute for the third minute, and so forth.

Adam is steady at 10 meters/minute.

Who crosses the center of the square first, and by how many seconds (to the nearest second)?


See the solutions