John and Steve are speed walkers in a race. John is 15 meters behind Steve when he begins his final push. John blazes to the finish at a pace of 4.2 m/s, while Steve maintains a blistering 3.8 m/s speed. If John finishes the race 2 meters ahead of Steve, how long was John’s final push? Choose one: A) 13 seconds B) 17 seconds C) 26 seconds D) 34 seconds E) 42.5 seconds
Let t be the time that John spent for his final push.   Thus, per the question,   4.2t = 3.8t+15+2 ---&gt; 0.4t = 17 ---&gt; t = 42.5 seconds.   42.5 seconds is the correct answer.
<result>E</result>
John and Steve are speed walkers in a race. John is 15 meters behind Steve when he begins his final push. John blazes to the finish at a pace of 4.2 m/s, while Steve maintains a blistering 3.8 m/s speed. If John finishes the race 2 meters ahead of Steve, how long was John’s final push?