Brain Teasers
A Plane Trip
Two identical airplanes (Plane A and Plane B) make the round-trip flight from Miami to Las Vegas on different days. They both use the exact same route, have the same layover time in Las Vegas and flight conditions are the same, save one: Plane A experiences no winds on the flight, and Plane B experiences a constant wind that gives it a headwind (flying against the wind) going to Las Vegas, and a tailwind (flying with the wind) back to Miami. If both airplanes maintain the same airspeed (speed relative to the wind) the entire flight, which airplane will take longer to complete the round-trip? Why?
Hint
You don't need math to solve it.Answer
Plane B will take longer. The headwind decreases Plane B's speed over the ground the same amount as the tailwind increases it. However, the headwind is acting on the airplane for a longer period of time, consequently slowing the plane down longer than the period it was sped up for.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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I liked the puzzle. I thought it was more of a math question than logic. (You probably get a higher rating if you call it logic ).
Thanks Jimbo. ( I felt that it was a much more intriguing puzzle to solve logically (to think of the why) and only use math as a proof. If it fell under the math category, it just becomes routine number crunching excercise. I appreciate the comments!
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