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From: gupta@asgb.UUCP (Yogesh K Gupta)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: infinitesimal bees (SPOILER)
Message-ID: <809@asgb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Nov-85 12:43:15 EST
Article-I.D.: asgb.809
Posted: Wed Nov  6 12:43:15 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Nov-85 10:15:33 EST
References: <10852@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: gupta@asgb.UUCP (Yogesh K Gupta)
Organization: Burroughs Corp. ASG, Boulder Colo.
Lines: 37

In article <10852@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> c160-3ay@ucbzooey.BERKELEY.EDU (Banquo's Ghost) writes:
>Subject: infinitesimal bees
>Newsgroups: net.puzzle
>
>Here's one from a highschool physics class:
>
>At time 0, two cars are 5 miles apart, headed directly towards each
>other, each moving at 20 miles per hour.  (The speed remains constant
>throughout the problem.)
>
>At time 0, a fast bee flies from one car towards the other.  As soon
>as it reaches the other car, it turns around in infinitesimal time
>and heads back towards the first car.  And so on.  This bee flies at
>30 miles per hour.
>
>How far does the bee travel before being demolished in the eventual
>collision?
>
>...Ranjit

As the two cars are 5 miles apart, and are moving towards each other
at 40 miles/hour, the collision will occur in 5/40 or 1/8th hour.  The
bee would have travelled 30* 1/8 or 3.75 miles by then.

ps.  There is a story that goes with this problem.  When posed to a genius
     (I do not remember the name), he replied after a short pause, "3.75 miles".
     The person who had posed the problem then said, "I expected you to do
     the mathematical series."
     To which the reply was, "I did."

Yogesh Gupta.
-- 
Yogesh Gupta                           Advanced Systems Group,
{sdcrdcf, sdcsvax}!bmcg!asgb!gupta     Burroughs Corp., Boulder, CO.
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