Deepa rides her bike at an average speed of 30 km/hr and reaches her destination in 6 hours. Hema covers the same distance in 4 hours. If Deepa increases her average speed by 10 km/hr and Hema increases her average speed by 5 km/hr, what would be the difference in their time taken to reach the destination?
Aptitude
Time and Distance
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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A40 minutes
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B45 minutes
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C54 minutes
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D1 hour
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ENone of these
Answer
Correct Answer: 54 minutes
Explanation
### Concept & Time and Speed Variation
First establish the constant total distance using the initial conditions. Then, calculate the new speeds and the corresponding new times to find the time difference.
$$ \text{Distance} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} $$
### Step-by-Step Solution
* **Calculate Distance:** Deepa travels at 30 km/hr for 6 hours. Distance = $30 \times 6 = 180$ km.
* **Calculate Hema's Initial Speed:** Hema covers 180 km in 4 hours. Speed = $\frac{180}{4} = 45$ km/hr.
* **Calculate New Speeds:**
Deepa's new speed = $30 + 10 = 40$ km/hr.
Hema's new speed = $45 + 5 = 50$ km/hr.
* **Calculate New Times:**
Deepa's new time = $\frac{180}{40} = 4.5$ hours.
Hema's new time = $\frac{180}{50} = 3.6$ hours.
* **Find Time Difference:**
Difference = $4.5 - 3.6 = 0.9$ hours.
Convert to minutes: $0.9 \times 60 = 54$ minutes.
### Exam Strategy & Shortcut
Once the distance is found as 180, calculate the new times as fractions: $180/40 = 9/2$ and $180/50 = 18/5$. The difference is $\frac{9}{2} - \frac{18}{5} = \frac{45 - 36}{10} = \frac{9}{10}$ hours. Multiply by 60 to directly get 54 minutes.
### Common Pitfall
Converting $0.9$ hours to 90 minutes instead of correctly multiplying by 60 to get 54 minutes.
### Final Answer
Therefore, the correct answer is **54 minutes**.