6) James and John are racing remote-controlled cars down a 50-meter track. James's car crosses the finish line first in 16 seconds. As his car crosses the finish line, it is moving with a speed of 5 meters per second (m/s), while John's car is moving at 3 m/s. What is the speed of James' car as it crosses the finish line, in meters per second, relative to John’s car?

Question

6)	James and John are racing remote-controlled cars down a 50-meter track. James's car crosses the finish line first in 16 seconds. As his car crosses the finish line, it is moving with a speed of 5 meters per second (m/s), while John's car is moving at 3 m/s. What is the speed of James' car as it crosses the finish line, in meters per second, relative to John’s car?

fanduekisses · Answer

I think it is 2 m/s

danjs · Answer

I would suggest you first write down all the given information for each person

danjs · Answer

actually here all the information is given to you

danjs · Answer

speed of james car = 5 m/s
Speed of Joh car = 3 m/s

danjs · Answer

James speed relative to john speed?

danjs · Answer

pretend you are in the frame of reference of johns car traveling along

danjs · Answer

you think you are moving zero m/s if you have no other reference point to look at (like trees going by or whatever)

danjs · Answer

Both are moving in the same direction down the track from an outside observers view...

from inside johns car, how fast will James car move past?

danjs · Answer

you had it right it right to begin with, i am just tryin to paint a picture of the situation

danjs · Answer

If you are inside a closed off car with no windows, and you are not accelerating, you can't tell if you are moving or not

danjs · Answer

if you are out in the void of space with no reference, and a car moves past you, you can not tell if You are the one moving, or the other Car is the one moving

danjs · Answer

if there are no accelerations involved

fanduekisses · Answer

thank you, you explained it so simply :)