If seven ten-car trains and eight-car trains pass a point on a certain track during one hour, what is the headway on that track?

To determine the headway on the track with seven ten-car trains and eight-car trains passing a point within one hour, it’s important to calculate the total number of trains and how frequently they pass a given point.

First, you have seven ten-car trains, which amounts to a total of 7 trains. Additionally, assuming there are eight eight-car trains, that adds another 8 trains. Therefore, the total number of trains passing is 7 (from the ten-car trains) plus 8 (from the eight-car trains), resulting in 15 trains.

Next, since these 15 trains pass the point within one hour, the headway, which is the interval between each train passing a point, can be calculated by dividing the total time period (60 minutes) by the number of trains:

Headway = Total time / Total number of trains = 60 minutes / 15 trains = 4 minutes.

This calculation indicates that on average, there is a 4-minute interval between each train passing the specified point on the track, which accurately matches with the headway option of 4 minutes. Understanding this method of calculation allows one to determine train headways effectively based on the number of trains over a set time frame.