A man sitting on a train travelling at the rate of 50 km/hr observes that it…

2025

A man sitting on a train travelling at the rate of 50 km/hr observes that it takes 9 sec for goods train travelling in the opposite direction to pass him. If the goods train is 187.5m long. Find its speed.

  1. A.

    35

  2. B.

    75

  3. C.

    25

  4. D.

    12

Attempted by 11 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Answer: 25 km/hr

Steps:

  • Convert the man's speed to m/s: 50 km/hr = 50 × 1000/3600 = 13.888... m/s.

  • Relative speed (because trains move in opposite directions) = length ÷ time = 187.5 m ÷ 9 s = 20.833... m/s, which equals 20.833... × 3.6 = 75 km/hr combined.

  • Goods train speed = combined speed − man's speed = 75 − 50 = 25 km/hr.

  • You can also check in m/s: goods speed = 20.833... − 13.888... = 6.94444 m/s, and 6.94444 × 3.6 = 25 km/hr.

Therefore the goods train's speed is 25 km/hr.

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