Train A and train B are crossing the country, from coast to coast, over 3,000 miles of railroad track.
Train A is going from east to west at 80 miles per hour, and Train B is going from west to east at 90 miles per hour.
Which train will be closer to the west coast when they meet?
Comments
Train B - because it hasn't yet passed Train A.
No sorry :-)
This vague question deserves a pedantic answer.
It really depends on the interpretation of the word 'meet' and the assumption that the trains are on two paralell tracks. If 'meet' means the moment that the noses of the two trains become aligned then train B will have its rear carriage closer to the west coast. I am wondering if, in fact, this is what creator was trying to say in his oh-so-brief response. Howaever, one could surmise that the nose of each train is equidistant from the west coast at this moment, although this was not made clear in the question.
If, on the other hand, one's interpretation of 'meet' entails the two trains being paralell to one another and train A's nose is aligned with train B's rear carriage then these parts of each train will be equidistant from the west coast.
Is this the answer that 'thinking' wants?