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#1 2012-11-04 07:55:32
- sms37
- Novice
Offline
Hare and Hound puzzle
There is rectangular field ABCD.Sides AB and CD measure 600 ft;BC and AD measure 900 ft. A dog at corner A spots a rabbit at corner B and starts running at 30 mph to catch it.Simultaneously,the rabbit starts running away at 24 mph to a safe refuge at corner C. The dog keeps aim at the rabbit during the chase.
The questions:
1. Will the dog be able to catch the rabbit before it reaches the safe refuge?
2. What would be the shape of its path and it's precise mathematical formula?
3. Is there a better path the smarter dog would have chosen?
Only by actually drawing the path in small segments I have tried to solve the problem.I would appreciate if someone could do the appropriate math.
#2 2012-11-04 09:00:10
- bobbym
- Administrator
Online
Re: Hare and Hound puzzle
Hi;
Your problem sounds like a pursuit curve.
Have you looked here:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PursuitCurve.html
http://curvebank.calstatela.edu/pursuit2/pursuit2.htm
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
90% of mathematicians do not understand 90% of currently published mathematics.
I am willing to wager that over 75% of the new words that appeared were nothing more than spelling errors that caught on.