Two bicyclists ride towards each other along a long straight road, each with a constant speed of 10 km/h. When they are 20 km apart, a bee begins flying from the front of one bicycle towards the other at 30 km/h. When the bee reaches the other bicycle, it immediately turns around and starts flying back towards the original bicycle at the same speed. This repeats until the bikes crash into each other and the bee is squished.

A. How many trips does the bee travel before it gets squished?

B. For how long will the bee survive?

C. What is the total distance the bee will travel?

As the two bicycles come closer , the time period of oscillation of bee to oscillate between the two is gradually reduced . It is akin to a pendulum with gradually decreasing amplitude . It will be infinite number of trips the bee will travel before it gets squished .

B )

The bee will survive until the two bicyclists meet each other .

time of their meeting = distance between them / their relative velocity

= 20 / ( 10 + 10 )

= 1 hour .

C )

Total distance travelled by bee during 1 hour

= time x speed of bee

= 1 x 30 km/h

= 30 km .