I am not so good with math–I liked algebra, hated geometry and trigonometry.
I always had trouble with word problems. I can solve most algebraic equations, I just can’t get the stories into equation form.
I have wanted to figure this out for some time (I really need a life), so if anyone can help me, it would be most appreciated.
I go to Curves, which has 26 stations. You are supposed to work at each station for 30 seconds, and then move on to the next when prompted to do so. A complete body workout is accomplished when you have completed the circuit twice.
I find this boring–to do it all over again–and so have taken to doing each station twice in a row.
Here is my question. If I start and there is someone 6(say) stations away from me–how fast will she catch up to me? I would like to figure this out so that I can finish my workout, uni-interrupted. Unlike some at Curves, I don’t think that hogging equipment and slowing someone else down just because I workout differently is a polite thing to do.
I realize that I am going twice as slowly as everyone else, but I cannot figure out how long it would take for someone to catch up to my station. If I could figure it out, I would start my workout that many stations apart, if you follow me.
Does any of this make sense or should I look into medication?
Thanks in advance. I put this here because it is so mundane–and didn’t seem to fit GQ.
Well, I’ll give it a shot. Since you (X) are doing two workouts at each station at once and the other person (Y) is doing 1 at a time she is moving from station to station twice as fast as you, so for every 1 station you move she’ll move 2. So the movement can be expressed as Y = 2X. In that case, to prevent somebody from catching up at the same station you would need to be more than 13 stations ahead, because Y = 2X, where X = 13, Y = 26. Meaning you would meet at the last station. If you start out 14 stations ahead of anybody else they won’t catch up with you.
Put it another way, you’re moving at a rate of 1 station per minute. She’s going 1 station per half-minute or 2 stations per minute. If you know how far apart you are (measured in number of stations) then it becomes a distance/rate/time problem.
This is very odd. I went downstairs and put laundry in the dryer and the answer popped into my head. Duh-you would need to be 13 stations away from her…and that is indeed what is here.
but now I will throw a monkey wrench into the works. About every 3 minutes (or 6 stations), you are supposed to check your heart rate–so there is one 30 second period every 3 minutes. I do not do this–I continue on, but most people do stop at their station and do this, and then move on.
Okay, so instead of getting through 6 stations in 3 minutes, you’ll get through 6 stations in 3 and a half minutes, right? 6/3.5 = 1.714285… stations per minute vs. your rate which is still 1 station per minute. Again, rate = distance / time, and so on.