a ’ s speed is 17 / 14 times that of b . if a and b run a race , what part of the length of the race should a give b as a head start , so that the race ends in a dead heat ?
"let x be the fraction of the distance that b runs . let v be the speed at which b runs . the time should be the same for both runners . time = d / ( 17 v / 14 ) = xd / v ( 14 / 17 ) * d / v = x * d / v x = 14 / 17 b should have a head start of 3 / 17 of the full distance . the answer is d ."
divide(subtract(17, 14), 17)